Ep. 360: NWA Bunkhouse Stampede 1988 (Part 2)

And we are, in fact, very much back, and we're right back
in the January nineteen eighty eight saddle here at the Lapsed Fan Wrestling Podcast part
in the punt on Saddle. Because it is the bunk House, Dampede,
I thrite, Daddy, we're here. We're faddling up baby, We're fattling
him for the bunk house. We're getting it done. We're getting it real,
Daddy. If you know what I'm saying, Baby, we're going in
the bunk house, We're going out the bunk house. And what's going on
inside if exactly what you think, it's exactly what you know in your mind
of going on. If you know what I'm saying, Daddy, we know
what's going to happen inside the bunk house, Dampede Battle Royal. Baby,
We're gonna have things the hard way, the way they're at country. If
it likes it, Daddy, he likes sing hard, he likes sings fast,
Baby, he likes it rough. And we're gonna get bad in their
Baby. We're gonna get bad in that cage and I'm gonna be throwing people
at the top of the cage and they gonna be leaning on their head and
they're gonna be shooting their raft. Baby, if you know what I'm saying,
because you're the I'm the bull in the wood. I'm the bull of
ones, bull in the woods. I'm a bull the ones. I'm a
ball out of the woods. I'm a bull of Fitty Batty. Are you
Tim Woods? That's the question I'm trying to dy Well, we'll see about
that. This is uh in so many ways, Jim Crockett's promotion's first real
full blown effort in pay per view, and it would pretty much be the
last of this regime that's trying to fight back Vince McMahon Junior. And let's
get a sense of what Dusty is booker of j C. Pepton. Way
you get in that, as Larry put forward, for your pay per view
dollar. Here on January twenty four, eighty eight, head up with the
Royal Rumble on the USA Network and it starts with the Dark Match. For
some reason, dists on tape. I did not know this. Yes it
exists on tape. I don't know if there was like a pay per view
preview channel that ran it, or perhaps they rant it on television, but
yes, it's out there. It's the matchup between Jimmy Garvin and Sting against
the Sheepherders, Butch Miller and Luke Williams, the dream match we've all been
waiting for. It's needless to say there was promotion of a Sting versus Mike
Rotunda match on television leading up to the pay per view, but for some
reason, Mike Rotunda among the litany of folks that just seem to disappear come
showtime back in these days when they went with this a mixtag. Of course,
Sting what months away from his breakthrough match against Rich Flair on TBS,
so it's an interesting time for the Stinger. Johnny Ace was the flag bearer
and manager for the Sheepherders, waving the New Zealand flag on the weight of
the ring for this. I believe in New Zealand. I do. I
believe in New Zealand. I'm a Kiwi. I'm a Kiwi motherfucker whatever.
To be clear, the New Zealand Sheperders and Precious is in the corman of
the corner of gorgeous to be Garvin one of your favorites. We know,
Jesus and fucking idiotic hair from every Man's Nightmare Sting. Wait, that's where
the thing is from. No, oh, Jimmy Garvin, Oh yes,
yes, I agree. Uh in the blue black uh paint with white pants
and the rat tail and the blonde hair, the rat tail man. That
was quite a feature that didn't go away fast enough because you know what,
it made it to the fucking uh glube. It's on the globe as it
is. Rat tail dude, like a WB Legends toy that came out with
the Sting from nineteen ninety Great American Bash when he beats Flair for the title
and that has a rat tail on. It's such that if you grab another
wrestler and who has kind of like an open hand, you can you can
hook the rat tail. Wow. So it's kind of like a it's a
it's not like a tad to the body. It's like kind of loosen away
yow yep. It's like a separate hair feature on the Stinger. He was,
he was He was the first Bianca bell Air with that. Oh absolutely,
I think that's you know, I think of all the things that said
about Sting, but it's not said enough. Is he was the first coming
of Bianca bell Air, Like when you see him now in the with this
hair such as it is in his white paint and a W I think Bianca
Bella immediately, Yes, exactly, the matted down hair. The that's a
lapsed X on dlf X trivia question, Why does why does? Sting qualifies
the first coming of Bianca bell Air according to your co chairman and no one
else on planet Earth because of the rat tail. Oh my god, you
gotta be real deep on the catalog, christ I'm sorry somebody like that,
you know, I know, Oh yeah, absolutely, Like we don't even
remember, no, I know. So Bob Coddle is overheard saying, hey,
Jim a favorite, and I don't know what he was saying, but
he wasn't suppos say it into a hot night, Jim, do me a
favor. You know, I got a little bit of a turn on the
top of my ass crack, can you get awesome? Let's take care of
that right now, Bob, while we're live fucking They cut to them and
you see like pub coddles his pants like kind of slightly down, and you
get Jr. With gloves grabbing a fucking tiny turret from the topic. I
don't understand, you know where the problem starts a unfairly in New Zealand flag
and Jimmy Garvin gets the crowd to start chanting USA here in Long Island,
and the absorber said, meanwhile, the lineup for Bunk House Stampede is one
of the best kept secrets in wrestling right now. That's atlantic The listed Sting
versus Rotunda, as well as Rock and Rolls versus The Sheepherders were said to
so they were looking maybe have like an actual three hour fucking pay per view
and instead of this whatever it was. I guess, yeah, I guess
that's one way to look at it. I don't know if the extra matches
would have been on the pay per view or not, or if they would
have started earlier in the dark matches. They certainly at least the event,
I should say, at least like a three hour plus event right for the
for the spectator, they certainly didn't give a fuck about start times relative to
the tickets, And what it said in the tickets is we've established it doesn't
matter, So what's a half hour earlier of a start to get the Rock
and Rolls match in? But the thing was, it's widely reported and I
had trouble tracking down like you know, Ricky Morton saying anything about this,
or Robert Gibson that they basically walked out the Rock and Roll Express the weekend
of the show. Wow, like so many other pieces of talent we we've
talked about in covering nineteen eighty eight, just reaching their wits end with Jim
crockett Promotions way of doing business, and uh that led to obviously some turmoil
on the card as well. Tony Schumanni says when they brought Tony SHMANI sent
his podcast that one JCP bought the u WF, they thought that influx of
fresh talent would be a big positive, but it always seemed that Dusty wanted
to make sure the n WA talent were perceived as bigger than the u WF
guys. Of course, that's I mean, come on, that's that's exactly
that's proper booking, right. You know, Look, these aren't your guys,
Okay, just because they came in and just because you've bought them,
they're not your guys, all right, that's right. Day then, I'm
my guys. I've been spending years, Daddy, spending years booking. You've
got to the way that I got a book them, baby, the book
him to the top, Daddy, And you're a failing me right now.
I gotta put these motherfuckers out. I gotta put them out to fucking I
gotta put him out till you're telling them. But I gotta take thieves.
This is talent from from the NBA, Baby, the greatest ruffing on the
world, Daddy. I'm gonna take them out back. Shoot him in the
back of the raffle, baby, that's what you tell me. I gotta
do. Everybody's a Monday morning quarterback. Baby. But have they ever booked?
You know? Everyone fits everything about fiffing Matt Daddy. How about the
uffing business? But I'm not feting you right now. Have you ever book
daddy? Have you booked a motion? Dust? I have I've booked dust
Yeah. He's been yelling at Jimmy bat this whole time. I want to
know where the fuck you think. Don't mind that you could come in here,
Daddy, and you can tell me that I could put on pieces of
clothing hunt all these motherfucker's out there, Dusty. I'm not there what I'm
not a plumber. Don't call me daddy. First of all, I'm dust
whoa, whoa. This is a lot right now? Okay? Yeah,
Number one, I don't plumb. Okay, I don't plumb. It depends,
depends. I don't do what. I don't do what your daddy did.
I don't think so anyway. But clothes, what clothes? Daddy?
You're knowing exactly what I'm talking about, Babby. I'm talking about the emotion.
I'm picking new garments, old garments, putting them together and saying,
here, daddy, here's the fucking wardrobe out there. You'll deal with it.
MOTHERU and Dusty just watched a movie that's got them all inspired. Oh
okay, Oh my god? Do I have to be here? Is this?
Is? This is a requirement for me? Daddy. I want to
know, baby, where are we booking from? Who were booking for?
Daddy? Is it but the people? Baby? Hold a four motherfucking suits
up? Bad daddy, who couldn't give a damn? How about where we
are the people? Baby? About where we're going to the people? Baby?
I want to know who I'm booking for? Now? He always asks
the easy questions. So yeah, Dusty definitely in his feelings, but sting
would be the exception. He came in with the u WF purchase and got
the rocket but up his ass because they were kind of feeling around aimlessly for
someone to answer Hulk, I think really is what it was after, you
know, they failed to launch Lugar appropriately in nineteen eighty eight at the top
of the year, that is, middle of the year. He's doing fine,
absolutely, Terry Taylor, Ray Trailer, Sean Royal, Chris Champion,
Brad Armstrong, Eddie Gilbert. All folks said to be looking for the exits
around this point in time at Jim Crockett Promotions. That's crazy. It's tough.
As for this dark match, Luke and Garvin started off and Luke with
an irak and punches on a reverse hip toss. Luke hits the canvas than
a hip toss on butch as well as Garvin's cooking. They get whipped into
each other and the Sheepherder's bail sting comes in with the back elbow that drops
Luke and he's cornered and they sees on him and Luke bumps all the way
out of the ring into the guardrail and tips over with no one in the
front row there. It's pretty funny because that's a very vivid illustration how folks
had the wrong idea of when to show up. The very front row at
the Nassau Coliseum is empty for this Luke Williams bump. I mean, it's
like most of this ship Jr. Calls the Sheepherder is one of the most
unorthodox teams and the National Wrestling Alliance, which is really good to know Sting
doing the howl already Jr. Talks about the vertical leap of Sting, So
that's where it comes from. I always talking Tia Lef about how like I
get these like shorthand descriptors for wrestlers lodged in my brain and I never know
where they came. It's always Jim Ross. Yeah, yeah. He describes
vertical leaping and football and all sorts of goodies barbecue, barbecue, absolutely ribs,
yep, duan people and the kind that you eat as well, both
by dust Dusty didn't hesitate to put this. You w f impoured into a
prominent announced position. You get to hide down on the BBQ. Baby,
you know where to go go? Barbeque? Baby? Were you eating?
Daddy? Hey? Jay All, what you eating? Hogan's Who's who you
pushing Dusty's where are you eating? Sounds about right? Where are you eating?
Bobby's like, I'm right here, dost now, fuck you, Bubby,
and I'm talking about way the food is, daddy. Fuck you.
All right, let's gonna go well. I can't wait to see his match
against Nikita. God, I'm gonna book You're like a motherfucking Petha. By
the time it's over, they're gonna call himlafem Nikita. So on USA,
after Raw, after the rumble, that's true. Staying at the leapfrog in
a back elbow taken on all comers at once. There's a peer four brawl
that breaks out in the sheepherder's bail, plenty of empty seats again in the
hard camera Silder Visibles, Jimmy Garden gets in there quickly. He's in peril.
Butch almost in a frenzied state. Jim Ross says, almost recently departed
Butch Miller. I remember hearing when we were at WrestleMania and doing, you
know, going around wrestle Khan. They were saying that that Butch was supposed
to be there, but there was a medical episode, remember, and he
didn't make it to the signings that he died as a result of that.
Wow, look at that. It's insane. They say they are superior to
all American athletes. Jr. Says of the Sheebirders. Definitely something I always
thought about. Yes, I always thought that, you know, you know
what, always uh, there is something kind of funny about that, because
as a kid watching the bush Wax, I was always like, they're fucking
you know, they they looked pretty good all things considered, like physically,
you know, like they yeah, you know, Luke always had like pretty
you know, pretty solid arms and stuff like that, and so did Butch
for that matter, and so it was kind of funny. I would actually
believe that kind of in a weird well, I wouldn't believe that because I'd
always wonder how come they lose so much because they're so strong looking but they
suck oh in WWF. Absolutely, yeah, you know. I was then
hired him for the same reason you hired anybody else that worked there. I'm
not fun of them, and I know, but it was always like I
always found that stuff like when especially when you're talking about you know, the
great athletes, because it always I always get confused about about who could you
know who was a real good athlete or not because of that ship, because
you'd see guys lose like crazy. Yeah, it's so true. It's such
a trip to think that. Like so many of the guys that Vince hired
during the Golden Era that worked for Jim Crockett Promotions or any other territory of
prominence, they had like this whole body of work and they came to WWF
for like three years and took on a completely you know, out of left
field character. Think of million dollar Man for Ted Dbasse if you put in
so many years as Ted Dbias, just the grunt, the grunt worker,
you know. And it's like these guys they just they were all so good
at pro wrestling that they could make those wacky, cartoonish ideas work and it
came to define their whole careers. And it's like all these guys like just
had had the ability to get anything over because Vince was hiring people who had
been over for like fifteen years before we hired him, and we did.
We stopped seeing that in a really hardcore way, Like you talk about mid
to late two thousands, like two ten or twenty fifteen. It's like there's
nobody out there proving that they can get over and stay over for like ten
years in this country because there's really no venue to do it and draw appreciable
crowds. Actually not away. There's no company running buildings that can draw more
than like you know, fit more than a thousand people in them. So
it's really hard to say, but she put here's another great examples. So
we all think of then the Bushwhackers, and they're happy as a clam for
it because that that was the highest earning years I'm sure by a mile.
But that's like twenty percent of their career. It's always so funny. Especially,
Yeah, you get guys like that will come in at the end of
their care say, you know what, carry Von Eric same thing? Like
I think of that. I know, I think of him as only the
Texas Tornado from nineteen ninety on and you know, to ninety three. But
that's that's it for me, Like that's what I think of him. Yeah,
even like Mike Rotunda's irs, it's like he was in WWF as a
tag team champion. It's one of the top baby faces during the WrestleMania one
are right and still any better remembers only fucking until you become a car too,
no one gives a fuck's right. I agree with them. I agree
with them. I mean, if you're not a cartoon character, why do
you matter? And now until you stop becoming a cartoon character, nobody gives
a fuck. I don't know, Yeah, it would seem so. Johnny
gets a flagpole shot in on Jimmy Garvin and the outside at the heels take
over. Jr. Calls Luke one of the most deranged individuals I've ever seen.
Bob Caddell says, you, what do you say? You're look into
that guy's eyes. You're liable to see anything. I'll tell you, Jim,
You're look at that guy's eyes and you know, I don't even know
what they look like. Yeah, you look at that guys and that guy's
eyes and you're you're you're way ahead of me because I'm out cold. You
know, Jim, you look at that guy's eyes and you might get a
boner? All right, Bob, thank because it is. It frantically holds
down the cough button, Garvin getting pummeled, and Garvin dodges. Imagine Bob
Collins on off the fucking rails. I just started. I know, right,
one too many mountain dews. Oh Jesus. Garvin dodges a Luke attack,
hits Butch off, the apron Sting comes in whip pretty awful drop kick
from the stinger, tackle off the middle rope and a high elbow drop scores
that gets two for the Stingers. Bush makes Butch rather makes the save pure
four. Bral breaks out. Butch is fed the flagpole by Johnny As and
he hits Sting and clear view of the ref ding ding ding boss. If
you thought the disqualification finishes were relegated only to the matches that people at home
paid for, you would be wrong. And then the dark matches can't have
clean finishes. Baby, we've gotta work for the house shows that if we
will be going for money, Baby, we're programming. It's about coming back,
about coming back. Baby. We don't want to feed people a long
island. They want to come back. They want to fee that thing and
Jim mcgov and take care of the feet, put of baby nothing to make
sure they'll come back next time. Then a DQ finish. Yes, I
say that facetiously, but that really was the philosophy of those totally. I
mean look at that in it and back then it worked, you know to
a degree. You could here, this is kind of like a almost like
a coming out party type show. Yeah, you shouldn't be doing that.
You should be I mean this kind of a show you should be doing just
fucking you know, finishes for the most part, maybe one screwy finish,
but clean finishes for the most part. The way the business was evolving around
national television and national pay per view, there's almost a necessary bifurcation in the
way you thought about booking. Yes, if you're hitting a town that you
always hit it a hit foreverone are going to come back. You want to
give people some kind of an ending that leaves them somewhat dissatisfied on the promise
that the next time they come they'll get to see that that loop closed.
And apparently the patience of the Territory Area era wrestling fan for that kind of
stuff that kind of like bait and switch was infinite, was limitless. They
never got sick of not getting a finish. But once pay per view hit
and once it became a national war, and once sort of like the energy
in the building in the Nassau Coliseum for a show like this is not like
you know, we've been We've been watching these guys for ten years, and
what we want to see the next chapter here. We want to see these
guys in action. But it's more we want to see what this company can
do in Vince's backyard, right. We want to see how they can show
us a different kind of pro wrestling in the year. And so if you
just give him a bunch of DQ finishes, it's like you're you're not putting
your best foot forward. And that's the reason we're here is to see what
you're all about, not to don't assume we give a shit about coming back.
You have to make us want to come back on the way that you
don't in towns you always run. I think they, I think Dusty and
Company really failed to adjust their booking to that new reality. Then it's well
funny like you don't even have to do it long term, but to do
it, you should have done it at least for this show. That's what
I'm saying. You know, you're fair to fail to appreciate the moment.
You're so so busy and so stacked and so disheveled and so all over the
place that no one sat down and said, actually, this show, even
though we're doing two other shows that night and one night before one the night
after, this show really needs to have something impactful on it, right,
And I mean, you know, in a weird way, they should have.
They should have. They should have changed the title, like the main
like the world title. You know, like givem put someone out in there
who matters. Maybe put Luger in and give them And you know what,
honestly, this is the kind of event, This is the kind of thing
I would have been totally fine with them doing like a Dusty finish, But
like, how like a week later they announced that it wasn't for real,
you know, like have Luger win the title here and then the next week
on their TV and he goes home with the belt, and then the next
week they're like, you know what, No, there was there was shenanigans,
and you know, we didn't know at the time, but Luger,
you know, lu Luger tapped Rick Flair's kneecap in the wrong way and it
was definitely this qualification, so we're got to get the belt back. Yeah,
yeah, interesting. I mean, Dusty wasn't above doing that. I
mean, that is in fact the dusty finish, right, So I just
it's like, it's just kind of funny, this is the time to do
it, you know, fucking just for a second, take the belt off
flair. Another wrinkle to that dynamic of coming to the New York area that
I didn't really mention in part one, and that I highly encouraged folks who
are on AD free shows to check out Conrad series with David Crockett, where
David takes Jim's old book of like the Towns and the Gates, like month
by month, year by year, and sort of you know, asks David
he remembers about the cards and the climate of the business back in like early
eighty five and the months leading up to the first WrestleMania Crockett runs Allantown,
PA for the first time. Oh shit, and then they start running New
York soon or trying New York or Metal Lands. I think they'd done medal
ends with Steamboat Flare at eighty four. But aside from that, but what's
interesting is like the catalyst for it isn't so much like we're going to get
our army together and go fight them. The catalyst was that Bob Backland had
been fucking kicked out the door after Hogan came and ate his lunch, and
Backland thought he could play. Backland thought he could start a territory. He
called it Northeast Wrestling, and he wanted to basically have a total style.
Yeah. The the WWF's long time alliance with Allantown, PA in the in
the field house where they tape television forever and ever, that had expired and
they started taking tapings on the road or doing mid Hudson's Civic cent or Poughkeepsie,
and so that was an opportunity there. We had that market all of
a sudden that WWF was choosing to sort of avoid an Allentown and they kind
of built a base of operations there and Bob Backland and Sergeants Law both cast
offs of the Vince Junior power plays, you know classic like It's not your
show anymore, I'm the Boss, Hogan's the man. They kind of form
an alliance with Crockett and other promoters to fill out cards. But you've got
JCP shows in the New York area and all the way back in eighty five
through eighty six and seven with Bob Backland on them. Bob Backland on the
AWA Wrestling for a Cure show in Boston that we covered last year on TLF.
Sure, in a similar position of trying to get something started where he
could you know, headline because of his history in the area, basically a
territorial alternative to WWF as they you know, started going to LA just as
often as they went to you know, Schenectady or whatever the case. Right,
So, uh so, yeah, it is wild. It's kind of
like it was. It was a move before it was a war. It
was more like it was more like other people were at war with Vince than
the Crocketts. But the Crocketts made useful allies, you know. Sure,
And and Larry's Abisco coming over? Who's in the opener on this show?
And somebody they always tried to feature when they went into PA or New York
or any town that would remember the Zibisco Sammartino program. But you know,
Zibisco I think was also. Wasn't he also in a WA Wrestling for a
Cure? I'm pretty sure he was. Did he mean even wrestled Backland?
I think I don't remember that batro Vers Larry Zbisco, Yeah, wow,
So you know, they're trying to bring stars that might resonate in these markets
too. And here we are at the Nassau Coliseum for the Bunkhouse Stampede and
there's Larry Zibisco. Always thought it was kind of a weird fit when Zibisco
showed up in JCP. And remember we were doing Black Saturday, like Bruno
Sammartino was in Georgia Champion Wrestling in like nineteen eighty one. What the fuck
is going on the turner? We created Sammartino and Zibisco on a TV sound
stage and fucking Atlanta, But there it is. So the opening of the
pay per view as presented on Peacock and at the time is NWA presents the
Bunkouse Dampede Finals from the Nassau Coliseum in New York. And we opened on
the building with lasers and some generic music. It really is generic music,
but thanks to our man and Matt, we have a lot of detail about
what actually is behind the music. It's not a Peacock overdub No. I
didn't think so, because it is plently a couple of times, but what
did you say? The intel is that musician Mark Hallman was basically a guy
whose original compositions are all over Jim Crockett Promotions television from nineteen eighty six to
nineteen eighty eight. Lots of the TV show themes he did. He also
did the famous Midnight Express theme that FTR sort of remixed and uses to this
day in a w and that was also instilled by an actual track Okay yep,
a revised version of Brickflare's entrance the Rock and Rolls the Boogie Woogieman theme,
Matt conveys at. Once Turner took over, the music was changed over
to tracks from production libraries that you'll sometimes also hear an old porn and ship.
Yeah, I remember, wow, yes, hearing that the nWo theme
was actually on a porn before it was ever on WCW. Remember hearing that
distinctly? Oh God. And of course you know so many of those songs
that the wrestlers came out to during the the Money Night wars peak. You
would hear commercials and other places too, and the bunk House stampede eighty eight
according to a Matt for this show, this is the final Mark Holman track
used by Jim Crockett Promotions, right here at the bunk House Stampede theme.
So that's very interesting stuff. I didn't know anything about Mark Holman. There's
no me. It's always kind of a black box. Who puts the music
together on wrestling shows from we had trouble like who did the TNA music?
We have no idea? Yeah, I say, Jimmy Hart. There's this
guy Dale Oliver. Do people say that Search selenas Dixie Carter's husband, did
quite a bit of it. I'm sure you know, if you make a
couple of phone calls, you can find out who did it, right,
But it's not like, not only right. You almosten to have like a
music themed wrestling blog or podcast for that to be worth the effort. But
yeah, Matt advises that this guy Mark Holman did NBA Championship Wrestling theme,
the Pro Wrestler, the NWA Pro theme, the Worldwide theme, the rock
and Roll Midnights Boogie woogie, and yeah, here the final one, the
Bancow Stampede eighty eight. So there you go. We get a low angle
camera shot on the floor to see Nikita Coloff walk the aisle with a television
strap on color lights. What open a were you talking about? He's not
on the opener of this one. Sorry, you said Larry Zibisco was in
the opener of this one. He's no, he's in the second match.
Sorry. I'm pretty sure the wrestling for Cure was the opener Backland versus Zibisco
memory correctly, I say, Harry comes. It looks great. I mean,
I'd like the way they dressed up the building. It it looks like
kind of gritty, you know, yep, but there's some flourishes in there,
Tony Shavanni, and there is a ring and answer for the show.
It looks like a lower tier porn star. Absolutely easily. This is the
sorry do I hear? Fucking it means to be seen. This is the
n W A green and blue apron era. There, I thought it was.
It didn't start until mid eighty eight, but here we are in January
with the the green apron. Maybe they didn't eighty seven two another to think
about it, you know what I think? Oh God, I don't think
a look at it. But I can't think eighty six. Yeah, I
think even eighty six. I feel like with the Starcade in eighty six they
had it. I'm sure we noted at a memorial tour, you know,
I'm gonna take a look here, will you continue? Sure we got out
white and gray ropes with a navy canvas. Bob Cardle welcomes us. Yeah,
they have it in starkad eighty six. Massive, Yeah, totally massive,
that's wild. Has mentioned Jr. Would say in his podcast that working
with Bob Cardle was one of the great joys of his life. So keep
that in mind as we hear these two in direct Bob Cardle has a fucking
couple of doozies here. Well, yeah, I mean, here we go.
I'll start. I'll start us off here with with with with Fraudle here
off the World Television Champion, Tennis Championship Match one, all twat him at
a time limit, beautiful body, Eden, the Midnight Express, and of
course Jim Ross in that conning with Eaton. You've got Jim Cornette, and
any time you got Cornette and any of his guys around around that ring in
any match, watch out, because you know, anything is apt to happen.
Bless the guys soul. But what he is that good? There wasn't
even there wasn't that wasn't even a run on sentence like he just do He
just added phrases and words without any sort of connection whatsoever. He's like,
he uses these phrases like anything's bound to happen that you could say about any
wrestler, right right, And you know that, you know, Jim,
that you have the guy in the ring there with the other guys outside the
ring, and you know things are gonna happen. I don't know about it,
if you're aware of this or not, but we've got a wrestling match
happening here, Jim, And you know, I just think that I I
think what we're gonna see here is is is is an intense but your scientific
athletic that intense hop up m h m hm m hm m hm h m.
I guess he's asleep in the bunk house, Jesus. I was a
deep abiding snooze slumber, if you will. Oh he was. That's some
that's some fucking that's some rem ship there at REM right, the REM cycle,
you get that right, It's not that nobody. It's the only cycle
he takes for a daily ride. Unlike how Cogan at the time, it
was on a much different cycle. Now, Jo points out that you know
Coddle was open minded in terms of him coming in from from Bill Watts,
and you know it's his territory, so to speak. Coddle was the lead
man in that territory for years and years, and that was the job he
had that Jr. Comes in to do and said it didn't affect Coddle one
bit that he took the mic, had no booboo face about it, just
was was kind and accepting and welcoming and well. And to show Jr.
The ropes, well, I guess you know they said that you're gonna take
my job. So I figured, oh, okay, I'll just have this
pretzel. I guess I guess if you're gonna take my job, I'll just
sit here and if you need me for anything, I'll I'll be twiddling my
thumbs and eating a piece of corn on the cob. Sounds great, Buh.
I can't thank you enough. But you know, one thing about corn
on the cob that people don't realize is that chair's already left the room.
Give me a severe diarrhea. Yes, you're right, Bob. Most people
don't know that about corn on the cob. Most people don't know the effect
corn and the cob has on one individual person. That's that's really funny action
that's like the Jesse Ventura, like guess who's coming to dinner I had in
filadas or the reset. It's like the the answer doesn't match the syntax of
the the syntax of the preceding statement. No, people don't know about Cord
and the Cob. Corn and the Cob gives me diarrhea. I mean,
that's just like, what a misleading way to set it up. You think
he's about to say something like you would read if you looked up corn of
the Cob in the Encyclopedia Britannica, and instead it's the most individualistic personal It
could be the only person in the world that gives the area too. You
know what, a lot of people don't know about threes company as I almost
choked to death on a caret watching it one time. Three Companies. I
was like, I was like pro wrestling in eighty eight. Three's companies should
have been all about aw awwww, thank you. So Jarr says it's a
great festive atmosphere, Earth and Nassau Coliseum, half a million for the bunk.
How stampede, I think he says, watching it's availability, of course,
it's not. Now people are going to watch alrights, how many homes
they cleared for we could we could have a half a half million people watching
this show, Bob, Oh, what this is potentially the most watched and
by the time we actually get the numbers, you're not going to carry anymore
acid question. So let's just go ahead and say it. They pitched Tony
shownable, Bob Coddle just stands there after j R. Does the whole introduction
and they let us know the NBA TV titles on the line. Referee,
I think you said, Ismail Guarena. I'm not familiar with this guy,
but it's pretty clear from the refs like Dick Whorley and stuff that they're sort
of what's the word they're seating delegating to the New York State Athletic Commission,
you know, the referees and all that stuff for the show. Cornette with
a sparkly red jack and on at the bow tie one half of the US
taking Champions, Bobby Eaton coming to the ring with him from the dark Side,
as they identify him. So weird just because of the express it's so
weird dark Side. They're not like at all dark Side, so fucking weird.
It comes to the Russian nightmare, Nikita coloff with a Nikita pronouncement and
why I wrote that? Okay, so you can see the New York Daily
News logo up in the balcony of the Nazi Colisseum and no smoking in the
arena another soul. Yeah, that was all about having the smoky bingo halls
and ship, Cornett, reflecting in his Midnight Express scrapbook book about this time
period. As January nineteen eighty eight came around, more changes were in order.
The December twoy had been dismal, with TV tapings everywhere in houses doing
a fraction of what the previous two years had. Bubba Rodgers piste off at
having gotten a five K check for starcade half with the Express, and Jim
Crockett had made even though he climbed the scaffold as well for a spot with
Ricky Morton, was left vulnerable to a Vince mcman raid and left for WWF
to become the Big boss Man and have a successful run against Hulk Hogan.
The Minute Express were appeased somewhat when they began being booked in more important matches,
but they still had no quality teams to work regular programs with and despite
spot successes, the houses were getting worse as the core Carolina cities dropped to
new lows, much of it caused by fan discontent at feeling abandoned in the
expansion New York. Additionally, with at least two cities running in many nights,
the Express were booked on the buttermilk run Sunker milk Run. But what
it's like the Uncle Elmer Run. I guess I don't know what is the
buttermilk run. It's gotta be towns where they drink buttermilk ot or no,
like Elberton, Georgia, Kansas or something. He's trying to say. You
know, they were put on like the backwoods, you know towns while NWA
kept running like Chicago and Philly in LA and New York and the midnights wouldn't
get booked on their shows too often, he writes, The boys began taking
steps by the end of January to address not only compensation but the profile of
their opponents as well as for the book. It records an eighty thousand dollars
payoff with the Bunkhouse Stampede nineteen eighty eight to one. Bobby Eaton not bad
at all? Wow, yep. All right. He also writes crockett second
venture into pay per view worked a little better than the first. Artistically,
it was a bomb for the minute, expresses Eaton's patch with Nikita was ill
conceived by the notoriously hard New York City area crowd. Now, it was
because Nikita worked a fifteen minute hammer lock and was in his own head about
finding out as his girlfriend had been diagnosed with cancer shortly before the show,
and he always cites that as a reason that he appeared so checked out by
eighty seven eighty eight. There's also the small matter that he didn't really like
pro wrestling or being a pro wrestler. There's that thing too that no one
ever really considers. And Stan's originally booked singles match with Jimmy Garvin was cut
for time. Well, yeah, I guess you could say that. Jimmy
Garvin, as we mentioned, work in the dark tag match that night.
The live gate was down from the NASAU debut in November, Cornett rights as
the NWA just did not have the exposure in the New York market of the
WWF on pay per view. They were once again throttled by the advent of
WWF Royal rumble airing on Free TV in the USA network, and a successful
attempt by Vince to sabotage JCP's pay per view aspirations. Yet again, the
only good thing to come of this years ago was the Benet Express and Jim
Cornett's payoffs of five thousand dollars each as much apart, I'm sorry, eighty
thousand dollars. I'm not sure if that was the Gate. I get to
take another look. Yeah, I think it was the Gate. Okay,
eight thousand dollars. I was going to say, but yeah, that was
that was those student five thousand dollars each for I didn't buy corneck. People
accuse me of running against the d against this Crocker guy, but I didn't
even know who he was exactly. I don't. I don't, I don't.
I don't follow wrestling. I follow entertainment. That's some people always get
wrong about me. I'm not a wrestling fan, right, I think it's
I think it's bullshit Carnival, you know, feces Carne Cornet Calso's payoffs as
much an attempt to play Kate the Minute Express as an actual payoff they quote
unquote earned. But again, where it is the Rock and Rolls quit just
before the Monkow Stampede, and Meltzer noting in The Observer there's a reason why
to keep his matches have sucked of late as it's not drug related. Uh
to don't hold it against him because he didn't want to create that impression.
But yeah, we later found out that his wife was basically on death's door
due to advanced cancer. I talked about that in this book as well.
There's also talk that Steve Williams, who of course came over in the w
F purchase and was their world champion, was supposed to do a title gutification
match around this time with Flair, perhaps even on the bunk House Damp Show,
which I like to think about consider that would have been way better than
this absolutely, But shortly around this time things fell apart between a JCP and
Steve Williams and he was gone. You know, Japan, much much greener
ventures for him. So Co offers eating Bobby and Pink in the front,
green the back of the trunks, right beautiful Bobby on them and Cursive on
his ass, boy bub Kuddle things. You're going to see two different styles.
Jim put the moves On. We'll Eaton right, fucking great, Bob,
keep up the matter. You know, I believe I believe that what
we're gonna see here is a two different individuals wrestling. Jim Excellent Insight Jr.
Says Eaton has a hit and run style to combat the ground attack of
Nikki to cooft the laughter spot shot and wingside, as well as George and
Politano. Actually, man, that was a little bit maybe it's a little
bit amaze. Yeah, keep going lock up in a break, Eaton confers
with Cornette after just one lock up, how much strategy got to talk about
on me? That? That's that's that to me is brilliant shit stuff when
you see when when like one thing happens that couldn't have happened, it's like
nothing happened. But boss, what do you think should I do? Now?
WHOA? I don't like the way that felt. Jimmy Cornett says he'll
make a mistake sooner or later. He's stupid. You can hear the camera
picks him up saying that stupid at Cornett a total master at saying things loudly
enough and the camera that was on him could pick it up. But he's
not always looking into the camera. Right, you know he's so great.
Let you eaves drop on his coaching. Hard Another hard, loud lock up
between these two when Jr. Says let's see if we can get a clean
break here and Bobby Eaton, Uh, still faulted for not swinging because you
wouldn't have enough time the hammer locked to the ropes and Eaton slaps the shoulder
to free up for your kids at home. Right, you're throwing yourself in
a hammer lock. First thing I do is slap the shoulder, shoulder,
and you and you and you, You'll be okay. How does that help?
It has something to do with circulation. You learned this, I'm sure
in your wrestling class. Yeah, it's all about It's all about the circulation
and and and and keeping the blood flowing. And yeah, inflammation, inflammation,
inflammatory incidents. But enough about it. The night of a fan storm,
the rain tackled Jim Jim Corner. Here's a JR. Celebrating Eaton's ability
to challenge coal off there. He is a kind of athlete that could go
strike, strike, strike to hit and run perhaps off the top rope if
it comes up. I didn't know he did the kuda grow. I thought
that was the idiots there. What's his name? Thank you? Well,
that's his thing. Mean while dust he's looking forward to the kuda fog raw.
Later he's looking for a cup of faux ras is what it is?
Lock up to the corner, some stiff short rights by Bobby eating a man.
Could he throw a punch? What a work and punch er. This
guy was holy shit. Then Nikita Coloft starts firing out of the corner headlock,
push off tackle, crowd pitch black for the most part. No if
that's due to empty seats or just their lighting choice, but definitely stood and
start contrast to the kind of crowd lighting we would see, you know for
a w WF pay per view. At the time, I'm eating to the
wristlock. Jim Cornett calls him que ball yep, I like that. Then
Nikita pulls down Bob eating eating, tells the ref to keep the eye on
the hair pull. He did absolutely not touch his hair in any way,
shape or form. Always great stuff. Lock up colof sledges eating and then
cranks the arm and brings the hammer locked down to the mat and some nice
white shots of purple splashed on the crowd where it's populated. They're doing some
on here like what is this two thousand five? I'm not sure what the
idea it was. You get here. Listen to col Off here grunting like
Hulkogan here, a little Minnesota there more than a moscow. That's uh,
that's him when in the hammer lock, like you know, like he's it
sounds like he's selling when he's putting the pressure on fucking Bobby eating. Yeah,
that's because would do that to mask the spot calls. Not always so
well, by the way, Yeah, haha, duck to ha ha ha
ha got it. I don't know if you said, Nikita, but here
we go. You know, you know, Steve, you don't have to
call the spots in a Russian. You know, let's just call it.
Let's just go by feel, because it doesn't make a difference when you call
a spot anyway. I can't understand a fucking word of it. So jarrs
Is and Kita Koloff learned a lot teeming with Dusty Rhodes, his superpower partner.
So put that in the advantage column for one. Nikita. Then Bobby
Eaton kicks and then hits the floor and they slug it out out there.
Bobby Eaton then goes to the eyes of coal Off and tosses him back in.
So I'm not sure why they went to the outside, but that was
a little jaunt there. And then Nikita cool Off blocks getting sent into the
buckling and sends Eating in from the apron. Eaton re enters the ring after
a quick pause. Jim Cornett's voice out of nowhere screams out of cameraman,
would you quit following me eating with the headlock? Takeover? Ask him?
Ask him love that, ask him, ask him as great as he covers
his mouth with his forearms so they can whisper directions to each other. Because
it's real, Jim Cornett says, shoulders, his shoulders have been down for
ten years. Where alfter? Come on? Get the kim push up tack,
goes Nikita colof leap frog bide Nikita Coloff in a deep body slam when
it covers his mouth with his racket as he advises Bobby eating because he doesn't
want to see you know, he doesn't want to Keta to read his mouth
his instructions. Can he read English? We don't know. It's like any
great NFL coach on the sidelines. They're gonna come to their mouth. They
know dying. The sky is on them when they're that's right, they know,
they know by know that there's potential for for people for the other team
spying on them. That's correct, just through you know, totally fair game
and the national broadcast of the show. It's not any surreptitiously hidden cameras or
anything. Eating with the need of the god headlocked takeover, stack up on
the pin cover gets one to kea. Col Off keeps slapping Bobby Eaton's back
when he's on the canvas. That's another right, yeah, r front ye
Eaton, Come, Bobby Eaton come? Is that what he said, Bob,
Bob Coddle doesn't think Nikita cool Off even knows what the submit means.
Okay, heard? Right hand goes through the ropes to the floor. What
yes, the kinda shoves him off into the post and then Bobby Eating stubbles
into the cameraman and takes a bump that was rather brilliant during a sense of
chaos. Sure hard hip toss on the floor and Bobby Eaton goes thump on
the concrete. Then Bobby Eaton rakes the eyes gets on with punches, rolls
and back of the rings snapmar and an elbow drop gets to eat and then
goes to the hammer lock, picking up a ton of dialogue. Now are
the cameras between them as they call spots, So then a back elbow gets
nicky to free and a tackle. They're cutting to fans during the action,
which is very strange decision considering you had a million minutes on the cannabis with
hammer locks. To go to the fans, but of course the fans will
just be like bored out of their minds, so maybe that's not the best
time to cut to them. Here's a cornette getting scolded by the ref and
Caudle feeling the need to respond. I'm just helping him on a little bit
right here this conversation. There may have problems, all right. I think
he's talking about the referee. At this point he was telling the referee,
my good is it? Co Op certainly doesn't need any help. Don't help
him out, love that you are not going to have problems all night.
A sort of visiting with the jump on a bad call. And then I
guess he's talking to the ref Jim. Thanks, Bob, Hey, if
Bob ever can't make the town, it'll be fine, we won't notice the
difference. It remains one of the wrestling's great mysteries. I mean, it's
just like a total testament to how far it can take you to be a
nice guy and a world or a business full of bad guys that Bob Cardle
is like, so you praised and beloved like not just as a guy,
but for his like performance. And I was like, I've watched this guy
for a long time. Ye, I didn't grow up with him, so
you know, granted that's to those who did. It's hard to overcome that.
But in terms of bias, but I mean, I haven't heard him
an exciting call. Once he says more nonsensical shit than than then Gorilla Monsoon
just goes up and it goes up in the air. Just you know,
it's never additive. No, it's not, It really isn't. I mean,
I like, I love the guy for our purposes, but as as
an announcer, I get so annoyed by him. Bobbyat and buries the knee
into a charging Nikita. Colaf climbs the top rope and hits an awesome missile
drop kick for two Bobby. Do you think Bob Coddle has ever He's still
alive, right, he hasn't died yet, Yes, he's alive. Do
you think he's ever been in a situation where he cursed? Oh? Sure,
you think? Yeah? I mean do you think do you think he
said fuck before? Do you think he's ever been driven to say fuck?
Well, let's not get carried away? Man? Maybe said gee, will
a curse moisey. I don't know. I didn't say gosh darn it last
night when I you know, I stubbed my toe in the corner, you
know. And then the other night I came home from from from from doing
a show and uh, and my wife didn't leave me in a dinner again,
and I said, motherfucking fucking bitch. That's well, if that's what
sets him over the edge. He's cursing every single time he comes in out
the rod. That hardly makes it rare when he curses them. And I
like it rare, absolutely, like my meat rare. You know, a
little bit of juice coming out of that if I ever get hit again.
A picture's house looking like a young Sheldon's house, Yes, all kinds of
four Mica everywhere. Oh, just like a miserable like bark a lounger in
the living room though, yep, yep, Like that's like there might even
be you know, like in like maybe there's like a family room with a
piano and there's a you know, there's a every now and again, he'll
go and play and his wife Bob, stop it, stop playing, my
god, damn please. Okay, so she's a fan, then nice lady,
and it's got but in the family room because it's a nice room,
you know, like they still have plastic on the furniture. Oh sure,
you know that kind of thing, and you know, wall to wall carpeting
just like and it just smells like smoke. Yep, Like smoke is just
fucking seeped in there. God. But the grandkids love it because it's like
it just reminds them of Grandpa. Absolutely, there are definitely people out there
that think of Grandpa coddle and very warm that you can't Absolutely the guy is
a bording grandfather. Yes, yeah, I mean, honestly, it's it's
a shame that that you can't get paid to be a grandfather, because he'd
he'd be he'd be a fucking multi billionaire. Probably I'll be eating back to
the Hammerlock now. Jim Cornette getting heat at Ringside as they chant Cornette sucks.
You ain never want a match on American soil. You're an idiot,
But moron, you're bald headed goof, He says. If Nikita go up,
that's hilarious. Never want to imagine American soil. Nikki to saying hey
do to Jim Cornett while in the throes of the Hammerlock fifteen minutes June,
Russian people hate you. Oh my god, I don't know. There's something
not additive and not positive about Tony Shiavanni announcing over the loudspeakers that fifteen minutes
of a well, I mean, you knowings happened. When he announced five
minutes, I was like, oh shit, well I know where we're going.
I don't like that. I don't either. I mean, you gotta
do it. If you're gonna sometimes do it for a time limit, draw
you gotta know you never do it. You either like you just can't it
just sucks. Or if anything, or if anything, here's what you do.
If you're gonna do, what you should do, honest to God,
is put a clock up. Yeah, put a fucking digital clock up because
you know you've given people the amount of time they need, you know,
so you put a half hour up and that's the time limit, or you
put like for this match twenty minutes, you put the time limit up.
You put the time up, and then you watch the clock go down,
Like put a digital clock up there. I think that's the best way to
do it, Like any sport. I'd be curious to ask, like a
Tony Shivani why they did that, because there had to be some components,
like it wakes the crowd up in this In this regards, I do get
it because it's but they were stupid to do it in the first match.
But they do it in every match this whole night, so it kind of
hides the fact that there's going to be a time expiration finish. But they
shouldn't do it in the first match. Interesting, you know, if you're
gonna do it, because the moment that they say that, I'm like,
oh, that's my cue that oh shit, we're talking about time expiring.
Well I know where we're going. Yeah, that's my point. Like,
if you're ever going to leverage it for that finish, you have to do
it in matches to dun't ca all the time, and they and they do,
they do do that the entire show. The problem is, you can't
do it. It doesn't work when the first match goes like you need to
set you need to set the the thing in motion beforehand and make it clear
that right in the first match we set it and it didn't go the limit.
Right, Yeah, I'm with you, but I just put it.
I just would put up fucking clock on there. Man. Now, you
just you know, you're running a lot of talents without digital anything. I
mean back then, I'm talking about even now, Like if you ever you
know, like to me, that's just a quick, a quick, simple
solution because fans then can see the clock and they know what's happening. You
know. I think it would be I think it would actually be a good
idea overall in wrestling to just have some kind of a digital clock running down
a match. It definitely helped the talent. I'm pretty sure that there is
on the hard camera side and both promotions a clock that the wrestlers can see
from the ring, But that's for the purposes of hitting your time for television,
right fans, I'm talking about you know, to basically set aside any
kind of that. Well, a time limit draw is unpredictable, Yeah,
yeah, because it's always the same rules of engagement on the front end.
I remember when TNA was on Fox Sports Net because Fox Sportsnet wanted to produce
TNA wrestling like it did all the other sports they had on there, they
had like a banner strip at the top of the screen and it would say
the match and it would say the time. It wasn't as far as I
know that FoxBox wasn't like TNA trying to innovate. It was just like their
television partners saying we got to do this is how we do TV. It's
like, okay, but the wrestlers up there, it's pretty cool. I
think that's I think that'd be a great idea for it, I mean wrestling.
Yeah, Like I thought the other day, like when guys are in
the rain cutting promos about an upcoming show, instead of making them say the
city in the town over and over again, like I remember FTR in a
recent aw show kept saying Hartford, Connecticut's where we're wrestling, you guys,
And they're not in Hardford that night. So every time they say it,
it pisses the people off that are there. They start booing because it's not
happening in their city, and they were in New Jersey, so they don't
like Hardford. It's like, how about when they're cutting promo, it's just
there's a static graphic on the bottom of the screen the whole time with the
date ticket information. Yeah, city got like the whole time. I just
feel like that's I mean, that's especially in the in this in the internet
age, you know, right, you don't need you don't need to have
them fucking say shit, you just have a graphic up there. I just
like it's such a negative when they mentioned the city. The only reason they're
doing that is so that people in that city can hear it on TV and
potentially buy tickets. That of course may sell the sense in the world,
but I would try to minimize creating a negative energy around the match, you
know, needlessly, which is what happens just about every time, unless they're
you know, saying we're in a wrestled at a big upcoming pay per view.
You know that that tends to get a pop as opposed to a bad
reaction. But okay, so we have fifteen minutes expiring long way of saying
that. Bobby smitches his hand to crush Nikita his head into the mat as
he works him over, they stand up back elbow. Four minutes remaining,
we're told he hits the ropes ducks and scores a sickle, which is,
of course that big clothes line from Nikita. Co Offen sins eating back first
call the middle rope just called a suckle, really is what they should call
him, So you've got that. Jared doesn't know if they got it full
force or not. Nikita Bobby eat And then pounces basically hits the divorce court
to the arm and goes back to the hammer lock and Nikita's grunting, and
Bobby Eaton says he gave up. He didn't give up. Jar's is the
strategy is to get coal Off to submit, and I don't believe that that's
the strategy to win this, and JR. I think you're correct in that
assessment. The next time Nikita submits will be the first time. I guess.
Yeah, I'd defy anybody to actually find Nikita losing by submission. Actually
I think it's happened. Yeah, let me go. I don't know,
Uh, It's such a puzzling way to work this opening match, Like what
are you doing? Why? Why is Bobby Eaton in there? And eight
seventy five percent of his match as a hammer lock. I don't know.
I thought Bobb Eaton would be here to get to get a good match out
of Nikita colof Yes. Two minutes remaining, Coddle says Payne could do terrible
things to you. Yeah, so much gluten. Not speaking French. I'll
tell you you know, you know, Jim, I've I've got an arm
pain that's been going on for about the last two weeks now. I don't
even get in the ring, as you know, I don't do much in
terms of physical things, but I'll tell you I got a great pain in
my left arm and it'll do stuff to you. And he's not talking about
the wrestler's page. He's talking about his own pain on the air, Bobby,
you know, Bob Caddle is a reminder that when a guy is of
the age, or at least the continence that he's describing his bowel movements on
the phone to his friend, you might not want to be a television wrestling
announcer. Jim may be time to step back, Jim, did you have
a bowel movement today before the show? Jim? Haven't went right? Now,
Bob, can you give me a minute, I'll tell you. Jim,
you know, I did have a boot movement for the show, and
it didn't go smoothly. I found it a little hard to get the to
get the feces out of my buttocks. Never have an anual problem? Oh
my god? All right, Bob Coddle silhouette, do you ever have an
anual problem? Jim? Well, Bob, I yeah, I don't know
what was harder to move back than at JCP tickets or Bob Cardle's bowel.
What's the problem. I mean, we're just talking about facts. I don't
understand why facts are such a big thing. Like people get all worked up
when we talk about him. So, yeah, Payne can do terrible things
to you. That's what Bob Caddle said before you like accused me of being
too harsh on him, and he said that Paine get let let I don't
know, let Ian Ricabani say, or you know, Kevin patt Trick or
Michael Cole say, Paine can do terrible things to you on a national television
show and tell me, they won't get mocked relentlessly. God damn it,
what the fuck is wrong with you? Right? Nikita stands and again back
elbows out and runs into the boot to the gut and another single arm DDT
kind of move. What the fuck they're doing the spot again. It's like
they're just trying to get to this time limit. Seriously, it's so bad.
Hammerlock again from Eaton, And I did have a notion. I said,
wouldn't it be great if he submitted him like right here? Can imagine
like Bobby Eaton works a hammerlock on Nikita call off for nine minutes, and
at eight minutes and fifty eight seconds he submits, that'd be the only way
to really have this payoff. I love the idea that, like the longer
you work a hold it actually sometimes works. The guy actually submits that gives
up in like ten seconds after. You know, the whole idea is if
you're working a limb, like you're trying to wear it down, but you
never know when that pain is at its limit. So it's so true,
like if it's the finish, I mean, now they'll try to do mma
and tap immediately half the time, but you know, before that if it
was the finish, you put the submission on and be like, you know,
ten seconds, you remember, remember the half hour that fucking Shawn Michaels
was in the ankle lock at WrestleMania twenty one. Oh God, like he's
in it, He's in it forever. I don't like that at all.
Right, it's like, now it's becoming about how Kurt Angel actually doesn't know
how to do the ankle lock, and loss about Shawn Michael's heart. Right
now, it's about just the fucking right the locks, the ability of fucking
Kurt Angel, and it to go. Nikki to cole off with no urgency
here, with the countdown going, just breathing, stands to the ropes.
They exchange a bit, Coal Off drops him, Eden begs off. Thirty
seconds left, no urgency. I mean he doesn't need a win. He
doesn't need a win. You know that's true. That's true. Corner amount
running down punches six punches in the corner, probably because the time limits running
out instead of doing Tandy just six fifteen seconds remaining quarter to corner, Irish
whip and back elbow down goes eating and Chiovanni on the PA counts down ten
nine eight seven Royal Rumble style. Interestingly, yeah, right, considering what's
on the other channel at this exact time, and a Russian sickle lands for
Nikita Koloff. He drops down one, two and of course out before the
ref laps two. He slaps two. Anyway, But even though the time
it already elapsed, what was so what? Now? Here's actually an interesting
question here? What was going on in the Royal Rumble? Well, this
was happening. Let's think, so this was what? This was seven o'clock
right, this this show started on pay per view, right, and the
Rumble started at six? Right? I believe the show started at eight.
This one started at eight, I think, So I thought it was seven
or seven. Yes, that's what it was. You're right, it started
at seven, but some tickets said it would start at eight, So right,
okay, so it's at seven, and then I think the Rumble started
at six? Really, wow, I put because The Rumble technically is a
three hour show with commercials, right, and I believe that. I think
they started at six and went to nine, which is kind of funny because
like you'd think, I guess either way, I guess they want the first
I guess in those days. You want the first hour unopposed versus if you
rumble, Yeah, if you're the rumble, yes, they're probably honestly weren't
thinking about that. People would be watching bunk house Stampede that they have to
worry about. Man, So I wonder what was Let's take a look here.
That's good question. The first So we're gonna like kind of approximate an
hour here. Actually, you know what, I know, it'll exactly what
I'll do. I'll get my I can get my script from last from last
time. You'll have that'll have my my time codes for all the all the
ship there. So if we're talking about an hour in at the start,
wow, at the start of this. So at the hour mark, which
means probably more like actually at the forty five minute mark they started, let's
go there. It's like like the forty five minute mark, they're actually in
the middle of the tag match, the women's tag match. It's like when
this shows start, what it's worth. I got a primetime TV thing here,
Lansing, Michigan, eight o'clock start time for The Rumble under January twenty
fourth newspaper, Oh, let me see that, Lansing, Michigan would be
an hour they should be behind. Yeah, they shouldn't be. That would
be nine o'clock. All right, here we go. This is from the
New Rochelle New York newspaper, January twenty fourth, nineteen eighty eight. Royal
Rumbo starts at seven seven okay, so the same so the same time as
this, all right, So this is just the beginning then, so everything
else happens interesting, okay, So then everything says here you all right?
So then this would have been Ricky and rude. Ricky, Yeah, Ricky
and rude. So that's the finish. In twenty minutes, Nikita cool Off
and Bubby eat And go to a time limit draw for the NBA World Television
Championship opening contest. Here of the bunk Hout stamped nineteen eighty eight pay per
view. Sweet Stan Lane, the partner of Bobby Eaton, now comes out
slugging away a Nikita coal off and Jim Cornett his body blocking the referee.
So the beat down can commenced. They put the boots to Nikita, A
dusty chant breaks out, Nikita hits the floor tod in a draw. Twenty
minutes, it's announced Nikita retains No. One cares Rice Dusty didn't get the
glory and go out there. I'm all right, you'd think you'd go out
there and get as much screen time as possible. Absolutely, Caddle says we
thought Bobby Eaton was the type of athlete that would give Nikita coal off trouble
in he did. JR. Questions the strategy, though, having seen Nikita
and some brutal matches, to go after him with a ground attack. Guy
walks right in front of the camera while these two are doing a standout.
Of course, I don't think he's You're just going to get through some personnel
emboldened by being assigned by the Commission, No doubt, Jim, you want
to know what make what gives me trouble? Spicy foods? Bob? What
what gives you trouble? Bob? You're about to tell us of it?
I don't I don't know what what? Then Bob Cattle cuts off JR.
To say the Western States Teratoge Championship match, they're clearly being a year.
Oh my god, so fucking it's so sloppy. Everything is so fucking sloppy,
does Abisco in his fourteenth glorious year in the business. According to Jim
and he wants a title. Will it be the Western States? I guess
we all want, I guess the Western States heritage. So what's the heritage
part of this title? I don't know. Short lived belt tournament in the
UWF and eighty seven to determine the champion, defended in the NWA until it
was abandoned the next year, according to Wikipedia, created as a tribute to
the NWA Western States Heavyweight Championship out of Amarillo, which of course is where
dust to go to start. So we'll wait a minute. So so Western
States, then, only it's everything west of the East coast to people,
right right, right. It's not the American West. It's like Texas West.
I guess it's it's the Midwest, really, the Old West, the
Old West, the wild wild West, the wild West. Of course.
Yes, I'm just curious which states that the champion here represents. I wish
they took the time to delineate, but they definitely did not. And again,
the heritage part of it, and I'm very curious about, like,
yeah, what heritage they're they're they're referring to. I mean, there's a
lot of Western State heritage. It's very true and it's kind of a damn
shame that no one was ever forced to explain, At least to my knowledge,
no one was forced to explain. And here it comes Larry's Abisco to
challenge Berry Wyndham for said championship. Outsteps Baby Doll Accompany's Abisco to the ring
in the black dress. She's her days are numbered in Crocket Promotions, obviously
no longer working with Tully Blanchard Enterprises and about to shoot an angle with Dusty
and then completely disappear. And what would be a great what if for fans
of the territory for years of following this Zibisco comes in with the black bomber
jacket, big Gass spotlight on him as he enters the rain. Berry Windham
comes out with the title on on his waist with a leather vest and a
yellow and chaps. Referee Dick Croll, a mainstay of WWWF shows, and
the area is assigned. He was the one, Yes, I was able
to confirm he was the one that walked in front of the camera moment ago
Tony says welcome the loving baby Doll, and then I just could tell when
I saw his face that it was the same the same profiles. The guy
walked in front of the camera, I just recognized him. Larry's Bisco introduced
from New York Onlike every graphic, it says, over and over again,
it's like, calm down, guys, we get that you're going to work
like over yourselves. Barry Windham versus Larry's Abisco. Dick roll checks the boots.
Bob Cuddle says Zibisco wanted the Western States title. Baby doll in Barry
Wyndham's face, poking and pointing and high heels and black gloves. Jr.
Says, you got a poker in the chest. See how she likes it.
This is back when you know baby faces struck women. That's right,
and it was okay, and the fans cheered it wild. Seeing Yankees jackets
in the front row with a chick crackic promotion show, I know that's really
crazy. They circle, they measure each other up, lock up, they
break, lock up in an arm drag here by Barry Wyndham and a lock
up, headlock, push off, down goes Zibisco un tackles and cross is
blocked and Sibiscoco up and over the business. Larry Jr. Calls Zbisco,
we're ond this time a master of mind games. And right then is when
Larry goes to the corner. He doesn't like quick fake out dodges and looks
like a complete idiot the way his like his goofy up upper body moves around.
Ye. And you know what I can't stand too. He's fucking just
his his like water like hair. It's always the hair with you. And
it's this point it is like he just kind of goes everywhere. It's so
light and like not its substrate. You know, it could catch the most
subtle breeze, right, you know, it's like he just anything makes it
move. You know, it's just hard to deal with it, really,
it really is. I mean he just in his and his stupid squished face
too. He's always like that, Larry. Okay, Larry, if that
is your oder the golf follows on the golf course, Ive fucking do that
New World odor thing like it's so good. It was like because it was
like, ooh, Larry got him good if they fucking care, Like when
he was feuding with Larry's bicoli and then he died in real life and he
like refused to express sympathy on nitro. Woh, it's probably just as well.
He's gone ship. So yeah, it takes niptoss and bails. Sibisco
drops back. I didn't kill him. He's lucky, right, exactly,
Yeah, he didn't get invited to the wake. Sibisco back in the ring,
dropped to the ankle pick on Barry Windham and grapevines the bandaged leg of
the champion. Windham gets free baby dolls like come on, keep the hold.
Zibisco complains about another non existent hair pull, which apparently is a trick
utilized by all heels in this territory. Absolutely winning with the headlock push off
over the top, he goes Zabisco with a great drop kick. He does,
and it's not only surprises you and me, but also surprises JR.
And Uh. He says that he expects to see some more and then we
lead. That leads to Caddle being Caddle. I think we're gonna say a
lot of extracurricular things here from Szabisco, knowing here on this national broadcast that
he and that Ladican catapult right to the spotlight with a victory of the championship.
Well, you won't be surprised by anything that Bisco does. Jr.
Literally said that, you know, I guess that's what's like. Zibis.
Let play it again so you hear what he says, because he just because
Bob caught a literally contradicts them right away. I think we're gonna say a
lot of extracurricular things here from Sabisco, knowing here on this national broadcast that
he and that Ladican catapult right to the spotlight with a victory of the championship.
Well, you won't be surprised by anything that Bisco does. Jard literally
said the opposite, Right, We'll be seeing a lot of extracurricular things.
He said, we will be surprised, We will be surprised. Oh,
you know, Jim, I agree with we won't be surprised. Does he
call him Abisco? We won't be surprised when Nabisco brings over a box of
cookies. Someone's mind is elsewhere. Uh, I mean, just another example
of what we're saying. Oh, by the way, the props were giving
Zibisco and the drop kick. It looked great, but the problem was Windham
held the ropes and Bisco totally win been bumped on the on the drop kick.
Come on, I got decladed. Then there's a tight shot of the
back of Zibisco's hand on the small of the back. You gotta love that
cell. Take the flat part of the back of your hand and just put
it on. I don't even know what. I don't remember what I was
watching. I was watching some some wrestling. I don't know what it was.
But it just like, you know, when when you see that too
much, sometimes it's just like it just looks so stupid. Yeah, when
you see it too much, like it happens like and you can kind of
be in the moment, it doesn't bother me. But then when you see
it too many times and you see the fucking fossy, fucking jazz hands on
the back, like you know, yeah, I know. I'll admit when
I've tweaked my back in my life, I have done that, but I
swear to God I do that because I learned it from wrestling. Like I'm
actually kind of selling for no reason. I can't think it's anytime I've actually
ever done that in my adult life. I used to do as a kid,
obviously, because I was like ah ah ah, like, what does
that even do except to signal to the audience that, oh, the back
is what's injured. That's what exactly what they do. And nowadays they get
like credit for selling because they in between doing like fourteen four fifty flips,
they touched their back quickly to remind us that their back is a fucking spread.
I can't, like, what what does that even do? It?
Like you fucking spread your fingers out and you put the back of your of
your of your hand to your back, Like, what does that do?
Tremendous stuff is what it does. I guess back to a hammerlock. Yes,
we're back to hammerlocks in match two now, Barrewynn with a nice drop
to a fireman's carry and Zibisco all flustered by the technical ability of the champion.
Five minutes have elapsed. Chavani lets us know as they exchange in the
corner. Pretty much no reaction. Sibisco shouts, come on, whendam I
to kick your ass? I think, Larry, you kind of have the
chance to right now. It's a match, huh, come on, lock
up. Zibisco tries a spin kick to the gut, but it's caught in
an atomic drop lands for Barry Wyndham, so Zibisco bales. He goes to
ringside says, I think you all suck. I don't know who he was
talking to you, probably the fans, yea. Sibisco drops to the ankle
again. Back you think about it, You think about it. Actually there's
there's a good opportunity here because Zibisco does have history with the New York fan
base. Oh yeah, they're all Bruno fans. Fuck these people. Yeah.
So Wyndham came in with the damaged knee. He had done a match
with Tully Blanchard that aired on I think the Worldwide show the night before Bunk
House Stampede and which Blanchard rammed his knee into the post and used a chair
on it. So Wyndham comes in with the knee I all taped, and
Sibisco immediately goes to work on that, dropping to the ankle and then digging
his elbow into the knee of Wyndham. Windham reverses the position for a two
count and Zibisco stays on the grapevine Barry Wyndham then just rubs his forearm on
Larry Zibisco's face until he gets the break. They get up, there's a
shove. Both have their duke's up Zibisco says he's he started it like this
is a match, Larry, like, why are you acting like it's actually
the bell started at pal Yeah, got his fist cocked in a boo boo
face. Pretty awesome, Sibisco here, pretty awesome Zibisco push off tackle down
goes Wyndham. Windham with a nice drop toe hold and a headlocked back up
push off Zibisco with a drop toe hold this time, and he cranks the
leg like it's almost like a key lock on the arm, but on the
leg instead. That Jared calls it almost a Boston Crab like position. Oh
yes, yes, indeed almost. Can hear Barry Wyndam mutter you bastart as
he wails on the canvas because he's a sales money toe hold. Now as
Barry Wyndham stands and his tripped Barry Windham stands again and an insiguri lands by
Barry Windham to a mild pop. He's hobbling around the ring of right hand
lands on Zibisco irish whipping. A power slam by Wyndham gets to black up
Windham slam. Zibisco climbs to the top rope leaps and there's no one home
and that great top rope missed elbow that Winndom used to do, and Zibisco,
being the the psychologist that he is, goes right back to the leg.
Thank you Cranks the told against does Windham. He's swinging his Bisco can't
reach him though, but then he finally does, and then a Zibisco loses
holding the leg and then hits that nice karate spin kick to the gut Zibisco
used to do, and then a front backbreaker for one goes to the chin
lock and Barry Windham lifts Zibisco with one arm and suplexis him, but again,
like he said, Zibisco right back on him with a drop toe hold.
Windham town the ref No, no, no, no way. This
is great because it's fucking awesome. No awesome, Get away from me,
you bitch, he says to baby Doll. Tremendous final window Windham. How
those out fires out of the corner, landing hard right hands and drop Zibisco
whipping a drop kick scores for Barry Windham and they put over how Windham is
going through the match with a bad neil, a bad wheel, bad knee.
Uh. Windham tries to suplex and it's delayed. The knee was supposed
to give way, but he hits it anyway. It's kind of weird.
It's not bad, yeah, but it's what would happen if you try to
suplex someone in a bad I guess sure, Yeah, I think so.
So I'm more inclined to give Windham credit for psychology than a deduction for poor
execution. Here, that gets too for Windham than a gunman suplex by Berry
Windham or the Salto suplexes. Jare calls it gets too whipping. A sleeper
is applied, Jim, did you say the salted toe? Yeah? Did
you say the sleeper? Did you say did you said pob call can sleeper?
M h the salted toe in a place that sells mad Tucket? That
like a Is that like a assaulted pigs foot? Right, Jim? That's
more interested. I'm feeling kind of hungry. Can you feed me? Yeah?
The airplane's coming, Bob, open up. Can you feed me?
It's not that old yet. Can anybody feed me? I'm feeling kind of
h m hmmm mmmm mmmm. He knows it's coming, that's a thing.
Can anybody feed me? Like there's gonna be a problem, for everybody pretty
soon. I'm not the kind of guy to scream, but I do the
anti food comma. I do the no food comma. Please pe feed as
he's losing consciousness, as he's going in a diabetic shot. He goes feed.
Feed's fading, dam jam feed hungry, Bob feed food run. I
can do it for you. Make salad to him with the broadcaster headset up
exactly tremendous, just out in this chair, out in the Nasau Coliseea again,
think of fucking Chipmunk che Jim Jim Ross here. You know. It's
like like, have a new fucking look at Bob Coddle and try to move
on without drawing attention to it. The directors like, can we hear from
Bob please? Jan presses the cough button. He's out. No, he's
alcohol We can't. Yes, that's good pay per view ship, Pat,
Oh my god, the bunk? Has this ever happened? Has anyone ever
falling asleep in the announcement before it's gotta turkey say mm hmm, f j
French roging? Did did you see French fries on occasion with cage in seasoning?
M hm? Right now? Twisted your frien. Mm hmm. If
you made us man tomato soup, I think it's set meat m m peut
butter m. It's so stiff, I get it. Guys. He falls
asleep. Oh yeah, oh yeah, you think you get it. Huh.
We're not done with this one yet. We're not done with this corpse.
We haven't. We haven't gotten to the point where everyone thinks it's funny,
stops laughing. That's when we really get going. And that's the two
of us. It's exactly right. So yes, it's salto though as a
whipping a sleeper to a pops Bisco is fading. There's a time check.
It says one the local time on the marquee, So there is a clock
up there, but it's not listing account down. It's just listening the Eastern
Standard time. Cut to a woman with eighties hair and her mouth agape,
watching the action as if in a drugs Oh she's ready. So the floor
that goes Bisco goes into a table. They like that violence, and she
wants some. She wants some Verry Windom actions, some of the some of
that fucking Verry blow pork. Absolutely forgot about that. That's an awesome one,
Barry Blowport, let's fucking go. Speaking speaking of which, after all
the Wooden steps up, Fucking Jase Jr. Says the steaks are the ultimate.
He's getting stay ultimate, yet speak for yourself. Jim steaks, boon,
since Zabisco pushes bar Jim, what's that, bob y one? Jim
steaks, here we go, Hey one, Jim steaks, here we go?
What call the action? Prime time? What fifteen minutes remaining? Windham
reaches in and snatches a Bisco pulls into the post. They like that.
He's just getting a little extra violent here. It runs his crotch into the
into the corner, Zabisco ailing. Cut to a woman in a Michigan sweatshirt
laughing grass off. They're fucking dying at that. For some reason, fucking
Larry's Abisco fucking losing his testicles is hilarious to the New York crowd. Well
Jr. Does say that we'll move you into the tenor row in the church
choir, Yeah, thanks, Jim Berry. Wyndham whispers a spot irish whip,
goes for the closed line. No one there, and he absolutely sails
out of the ring violently to the floors. No one missed a clothes line
quite like Berry windha mustle and I'll give him that. Bob Caddle thinks it
was sheer exhaustion and pain that caused Hibisco to drop. Not strategy there,
Jim, I'll tell you it was sheer exhaustion and pain that put me to
sleep the last couple of minutes. That yeah, I uh you know the
pain I get. I got a deep sciatica Jim. Uh oh uh,
I need a little help someone in the back. This is real pain,
not k fabe. Jake says it on the air, please, this is
not Oh fuck, Bob, this is not the nurse's button. Okay,
this guy's acted like he needs help from a stewart us on the airplane.
It's going over the air pay per view. Oh fuck, he says,
Bob Dottom. This is ah, this is not k fabe. He says,
I'm in real pain here. Oh fuck. During Very Wyndham versus Larry's
Abisco, oh fuck, he says, what why is it funny? Because
he says, fuck? Yes, love love. I just I love the
idea that that that that so many of these I love the idea of one
of these fucking clowns. Getting to the point where they don't even think about
protecting the business. It's like it's not even over, It's not even on
their fucking mind. This is an actual emergency. It's like, no,
no, we get a dud. It's I can't I can't fake this one.
Oh so good. And just the fans like an eighty eight, How
confused would they be? Oh tremendous. The fuck you're saying, kfe What
the fuck is Kfabe? What the fuck is he talking about? K Fabe?
What's that ship? Do you know her? Remember? After gave us
that ship at Starcast? I said, you know, what's it been like
observing like you know k Fabe disappearing in the Age of the aftermag And he
goes, ka Fabe, do you know her? Such a fucking bozo?
Okay, Bill, Okay, Bill, we'll see you later, Thanks buddy.
Yeah yeah, how about raptors all tell you what give me Give me
the number of the place you're staying so I can tell I'll never let you
out again. Okay, thanks. He was kind enough to give us some
of his time. Yes, Like Teddy Long, who's like, I have
to pay player for you, like you gotta pay the play player. I
only pay Brian Knobs for interviews, thank you. Right, we're talking top
tier because you can talk and talk because he's a bitch, has for breakfast,
for looking a podcast? Is this the hold? No one that wants
to talk to you? Doesn't that say something? Right? Isn't that enough
for you? Pal? And then alight find around? Were you supposed to
win the tag titles at wrestle many nine? We can pick the glory.
We didn't know what to say that. If you want real questions, that's
right, I'll go four poul All of a sudden, you want to talk
a lot more about what kind of peppers he likes in his omlet? Right
right? All right? So georgea Politano on the move. As the action
spills out of the ring and Wyndam is draped on the table, Windham yanks
himself up on the floor with his hands on the rope to a shoulder block
outside in sunset fliped by Wyndham, but Zibisco lands between the eyes with the
right hand and gets two. Sibisco tries a swinging neckbreaker, but Barry Wyndham
hooks the backslide for two. Sibisco hooks a pile driver, but now he's
back dropped out of it by Wyndham. And here's how Jay Yard celebrates that
maneuver that takes so much desire. Basically one leg around this young young man
from Texas ass I'll take so much to tire. Oh that's Jr's call.
Every time a baby face with like a taped limb, you know, oh
exactly, Windom blocks throws push over the top and then they collide hard in
the middle and Barry Wyndham does a bit of a flare flop and comes up
swinging to the gut. Baby Dollar is selling the corner very nice in the
corner, very nicely. With every shot that lands on Zibisco, she's wearing
it on his face as well. To the corner they go, Barry Windham
dodges and knee and she's wearing on her face. What's that? That's not
all she's wearing on her face at least later on. So Windam piles up
the right hands in the corner, puts the corner mount on same finishes last
time. He does a six count just like the Nikita match on the corner
punches and they're counting it all down. There's a docy dough and a ref
bump. Just like last time, Barry Windham rolls up Sibisco, no ref
to count. Sibisco has something in his hand. We fight out. It's
a spiked heel being worn by baby Doll. I mean, I know Larry
Sibisco was a heel. I didn't know he was a spiked It's true.
I thought the Road Warriors were spiked heels, actually, But he smashes Barry
Winham in the head with it and covers him for the one, two,
and the three nineteen minutes, sixteen seconds. This one on the way to
a time limit draw, but doesn't quite get there. I guess this should
have been first. And you're I think I mean, I think I think
so too. Also, I I don't see the purpose to me. You
also start on a bad note by giving a non finish. Of course,
absolute too, you know, I think in a weird way. I think,
and this is two non finishes. Don't forget the dark match, right,
I think you should always open the show with a clean finish that hard
not hard. Apparently it is, though, one, two, three,
Larry Zbisco pins Barry Windham nineteen minutes and sixteen seconds to become the NWA Western
States Heritage Champion. Yep, Baby d All caught by the camera slipping one
of her heels back on and Zibisco going not s leaping in the air to
celebrate, does the up yours arms signal to the crowd and the marquis says
coming February seventh, sting. So that's a quick turnaround for Steve Morton.
But I guess, and that's really funny. Actually, aly shit, babe,
it'll slap the mat while Barry Wyndham had the roll up, so it's
kind of weird. It's kind of a fun finish. What they tell us
is that Barry Windham was tricked while he had Larry Zbisco rolled up into thinking
that Baby Dolls slapping the mat was the referee slapping yes yes, and his
blind spot, so that created the distractions such that as a biscu was able
to get his hands on the high heel and win the match, and god
knows he's a high heel. So Larry talks about this in his Adventures and
Larry Land he doesn't really talk about this match per se, but he talks
about a dweeb short lived run here with Baby Dough and just basically Crockett in
general. You're right. Charlotte was the headquarters of the National Wrestling Alliance,
a promotion known by family named the Crocketts. There was Jim, Jim,
Jackie, the mother, and of course David Crockett. I enjoyed working with
them. I think they were respected my ability, but I was never one
hundred percent positive they really liked me. Actually, I think they thought,
just as the fans did, that I was really an asshole. I heard
some talk that a few years prior I had pissed off one of them while
doing an interview doing a little feud with Tommy rich on Georgia Championship Wrestling.
In the Atlanta area, a local attraction called Stone Mountain inspired a hell of
an interview, giving me something I could use against the current Southern heroes.
Stone Mountain was actually pretty cool, the world's largest chunk of grant at the
size of a mountain, sticking out of the earth, twenty miles east of
Atlanta. Once I'd featured a large carving, I guess it was the South's
answered to Mount Rushmore. Etched into the Granite Mountain on their valiant steeds,
where Jeffifherson Davis, Robert E. Lee, and Stonewall Jackson heroes on their
horses. It was even part of a show, as the sound of Elvis
singing in American Trilogy echoed loudly through the valley Davis, Lee and Jackson.
You can just completely picture Larry's Zbisco Oh God dictating this, but I'm gonna
spare us. So he's basically talking about an interview where he says, I'm
gonna beat you so bad, Rich, They're going to carve you into the
side of Stone Mountain two, next to all the other great American losers.
And so he figures that that pissed off the Crocketts for some reason. So
later I was excited about doing a program with Dusty Rhodes. Not only was
the American Dream, one of the nwas top guys. He could deliver great
interviews. With Rhodes and myself doing promos, we'd have the crowd going nuts
before we ever got to the ring. And what all happened with great exposure
on national television. The Crockett Organization had a good idea in the making for
a red hot feud and topped that off with a six foot tall blonde Nikola
Roberts, nicknamed Baby Doll. She'd been in the NWA for a while and
was involved with some of their top guys, including Dusty. It's amazing how
fast time passes. I had already been around fifteen glorious years. He wrote
that I swear to gun when I first realized it was more important to be
a chameleon than a wrestler. You never know what's around the corner in the
wrestling business. Brother, there, I was in a different territory with a
blonde valet before the karate outfits and ninjas could even collect any dust, and
I was just about to collect another famous collector of dust, the Western States
Heritage Championship Bell. Baby Doll was a sweet kid. The combination of her
n WA escapades and my reputation made it easy to get good heat. I
haven't got used to the fact that she was taller than me. To get
as much team as they could on Baby Doll and Me for the upcoming feud
with the American Dream, we pulled off a short program with an up and
coming second generation wrestler named Barry Wyndham, the son of the infamous black Jack
mull Again long time tag team partner I've noted bug hunter black Jack Lanza.
I know, I don't know what that means. That mean a bug hunter?
Is that a bounty hunter? Let me see bug hunter meaning? Thanks
Larry for making me google this. A zoologist that's no one that's can't be
what he means. There must be like a oh yeah, someone who robs
or cheats, drunks. Okay, a notorious bug hunter sounds good, Larry,
Keep it up, keep reading. Before I knew what we were wrestling
for a championship belt the materialized out of nowhere. Ironically, the Western State
Heritage Belt was never defended west of the Mississippi, probably never even west of
Atlanta. Where else would you win the Western State Territorists Championship, But in
Long Island's Nassau Coast. It's good stuff, Larry. So yeah, this
was supposed to set up a feud with Dusty Rhodes and Larry Zibisco. Can
you deal with that? Uh? Yeah, I could deal with that,
of course. Barry Wyndham was Dusty's understudy in every respect, and wherever Dusty
went, Barry went through WCW and everything. If Dusty was around, Barry
had a job and including the stock Er and ww note at the Stoker the
Widowmaker and oh God, yeah Jesus. But Dusty never got around to feuding
with Zibisco. But when he puts you in a program with Berry and you
kind of get one over on Berry, there's only one way to go,
and that's to the top against the American train. This never takes place due
to, you know, Dusty having his blow up and leaving an eighty eight.
But here's the detail that Zibisco provides on this whole thing. Baby Doll
was in my corner and Barry and I had a memorable match with a little
help from my devious valet. The gold of the West was mine. So
we just talk about this match. Apologies. But in terms of deviousness,
the fans had not seen anything yet. I'm amazed that for more than twenty
years now, people I meet in the street still wonder about the incriminating pictures
Baby Doll and I attempted to use to blackmail Dusty Rhodes. This takes place
on a television show after Bunkhouse Stampede, where Dusty's doing a promo in a
New York Yankees jacket at ringside, talking about winning the bunkhouse stampede, right,
and Zibisco and Baby Doll approach him and talk trash and say. Baby
Doll says things like, you know, you think you're this upholder of great
American you know merit and you know whatever, you know, positive role model
type behavior. But I know the truth, I know the real Dusty Rhodes.
And they put a picture in front of him that we cannot see as
a TV viewer, and he acts completely like shocked by the picture and basically
like frozen into silence by the picture. But they never actually continue the storyline
because this Larry's best goes about discussed. Baby Doll leaves the territory. She
was with Sam Houston at the time he wrestling in the Royal Rumball at the
exact same time as this show, and that kind of got her some heat.
But nonetheless that was something that's a great what if. As I mentioned,
so he's saying that people still ask him what was on the pictures considering
Dusty's look, The minds of fans boggled at the possibilities. Larry says,
just remember the best thing you can do when wrestling on television is fired.
The public's imagination I've heard every guest imaginable from Dusty's and naked in a naked
at Burt Reynolds pose to the American dream and drag. And remarkably, this
much talked about scenario didn't last more than three or four weeks. Baby Doll
and I would come out for an interview and demand that Dusty, you are
bidding, or Baby Doll would show the world photo she kept in a big
brown envelope, pictures that were guaranteed to ruin Dusty's life. The fans became
obsessed with the angle, and I made the mistake of believing it was going
to become truly huge and profitable. After just less than a month, the
Crocketts wanted a big confrontation to occur on TV, and at the end of
this public conflict, they wanted Baby Doll to lay a big, juicy kiss
on the dream Mmmm. It was supposed to be the kiss of death for
Dusty Rhodes, but it never happened. Baby Doll walked off the set without
planting the Crockett ordered liplock. Of course, the Crocketts were not happy back
then in the NWA, like the AWA, We're just trying to survive.
It was a very bad time for their insubordination. But what the hell?
Who cares about things like money, success, fame, or even a career
when you're in love. You see, Nikola was in love. It's a
funny thing. As smart as we think we are living in modern day society,
we keep getting married. Baby Doll had I recently married a young wrestler
named Sam Houston, a brother of Jake the Snake Roberts. And when Sam
Hurd, his new bride, was supposed to kiss Usty on television, he
went into jealous rage. Baby Doll was so worried about ruining her marriage she
ruined her job and was promptly fired. If there were any pictures, I
never saw them, and it would be another decade or so before I saw
Nicola again. The mysterious pictures and Baby Doll disappeared into wrestling history. Her
marriage to Sam was over in a year, but fans still ask us all
about the angle that never happened. There you go, that's funny. It's
actually this win here. Bunk House Stampede for Zibisco sets in motion a tease
that would be talked about for years because it was never consummated, and there
was also plenty of speculation that Dusty wanted Baby Doll like in real life,
he wanted to just have his way with her. I thought, Daddy,
because the American Dream baby spills all over places, Daddy. And I'll tell
you what baby Doll, Baby Doll, Daddy, baby one. Daddy's you
want to know exactly where the mythiby river come from, Daddy, And it
comes from the Cock of the American Rimmed up the Road. It's a title
of my next book. I believe he stole it. Yeah, what I
was going to call my book The Cock of the American Dream. Dusty Rhodes.
You you detect the problem and we'll talk about it. But until then
I didn't tect no problem. I think it's to me that's a best seller.
I'm like Dusty Rhodes. Dusty Elan wrote itself, didn't it? But
I mean, with all it, they would like the psychological portrait of Rhodes
in this time that we painted. I can totally see him like taking someone
rejecting, doing a romantic angle with him the wrong way, and like absolutely,
absolutely, absolutely total like baby about it. You know, he's fucking
running rough shot here, Like, you know, if he can't get his
way, then then then then you're out of the damn place. I'm not
dealing with anybody who did. But I'm talking about here is we're talking about
people you difobaby Amat can dream Daddy, then you get the fuck out.
I will fucking beat the shit out of Amadeo. Thought you could throw my
way. We already do that, Dusty, just as long as you don't
beat the shit out of any tomata they throw in your way. Mm.
So that's that's your Western State Heritage Champion. And then the title would be
retired a year later. That's right when when he goes back to a WA
having meant absolutely nothing. YEA two champions a joke and my mom Jr.
And the podcast said that basically, like this was supposed to be a thing,
like it was supposed to be like a way to play Kate talent.
In lieu of actually giving them a you know, a raise or something,
you gave them a belt, even if it was a meaningless one that you
kind of created at a whole cloth. It was kind of like a bargaining
chip, like well we'll put the we'll put a belt on you which is
you know, I guess in some ways he was j I was kind of
mocking it. But to me, it's like, yeah, even if the
belt doesn't mean anything, it is a little bit of job security for the
pro wrestler because at the very least they need to book you to lose the
belt, right you can, yeah, you can tell yourself. You know,
you're getting at least one more pay day because they got a book you
to lose the belt, or at least until you get the belt taken off
of you, you know, you're staying booked. Yeah, there's something to
be said for that. Yep, yep. But on Peacock, unfortunately,
at this moment, we suddenly flash forward and we're in the middle of the
Rick Flair Hawk match. Yeah. Yeah, well, well I've got what
happens here. Oh yeah, yeah, it's it's out there. It's apparently
the only reasonable guests is that whatever h first generation copy of this show that
the WWE came into possession of when they bought the video library and we're uploading
to Peacock or the ww network before it, they must have had a damaged
version of The Masters, because you know, you get the typical you know,
graphic on the screen on the network and Peacock saying due to technical difficulties,
you know, this is presented partially. And what do they say,
the best, the most complete way possible, or whatever the fuck they say,
the most completely possible, whatever that means exactly. So here's what you're
missing if you're sitting at home wondering, Because I got the whole thing.
I think that the whole thing here excellence to it. So here hold on
about it, Jim. That shoe was a monumental weapon in that match.
As it turned out, that one long spiked heel able to put a baby
dollar and in it was curtains from then on. For Barry Windham, well,
Barry Windham has gone through so much being the inaugural Western States Hairtage Champion.
He went the tremendous tournament of eight men in Houston, Texas to win
it. But he has defended admirably and with a tremendous that great Texas fighting
spared on so many occasions, and to lose it like that with the help
of baby Doll that's spak high heel shoe was I know, it's got to
be something he's never going to forget. I know we're not all right.
That's one one championship, belty. We've seen change hands, and of course
we can see more because upcoming we got a match for the World Heavyweight Championship
with no other than the man himself, the champion, Rick Claire, a
man that I consider the greatest heavyweight champion of all time. But he will
have to be at his very bad because he'll be faced with the most physical
challenge and the history of the championship. Road Warrior, Hawk and Letties and
gem Us, don't waste any more time. Let's get ready for the Championship
of the World. There we go. That's where you cut it off.
Okay, you get more apologies if there's some some duplication here in terms of
what we just heard. Sure, but also the entrances. Oh yeah,
entrance. I didn't. I didn't. It didn't spurn me as anything interesting,
but now it really isn't. It's just you know, the completest in
me once. Sure, of course, provide the gaps that you that you
encounter on the network. So no, but it is. It's pretty pretty
cool entrances when you consider you know that the Road Warriors are still coming out
to Iron me for the Championship of the World. Pretty good, yep,
I'd be fired up. Yep. I think this is the Mark Coleman remix.
Yeah, pitch your void g Yeah, this fucking synth version of the
song This Lady God to this. I did one ball sixty minutes corn in
Going Away World Heavyweight check and children were fall from my right. The manager
Rich call Eland and the challenger ship can't go way two hundred and eighty five
hands grow the lawyer? How do you do? How don't see the leader
of the ball he spend up Jane Jane God and this day Heavyweight Chicken,
Old Room Children the most comedy championship in the history of professional wrestling. Championship
met We'll be on the line. That's pretty good scene setting, sure,
I argue. I submit that you're missing an awful lot if you just watch
the Peacock version, because those entrances actually amp it up quite a bit,
and they do indeed, and the middle of things, it's just nothing Jr.
You know, doing his thing too? Is is uh is great as
always? Oh yeah, scene setting aggressively, Yeah, very good entrances.
You have to love the Iron Man entrance. One of the more legendary entrances
really ever in wrestling for the Road Warriors, and yeah, so little bit
more a sauce put on it. There were as on Peacock, you're right
in the middle of the match. These two have wrestled before, but the
very first time on the Great American Bash eighty six tour. Yes, they
were matched up. Well, let's see, they also wrestled on the Bash
eighty seven tour. It was kind of like a like a summer Bash match,
like a Hawk versus Flair was like a one off thing they would do
it, seems like for a little while. Eighty six Bash, eighty seven
Bash, the eighty seven one was in Charlotte. I think that was one
that was pretty well circulated. They wrestled, of course here at the Bunk
House Stampede. They also wrestled in WCW a couple of times in nineteen ninety,
but that's pretty much the extent. According to the wrestling data of Rick
Flair versus Hawk one on one matches, Flare remembering Hawk fondly and coming into
the show the Road Warriors, and of course Hawk, right, he's gonna
get a shot at the World Championship. He's gonna have something to say,
so let's take a listen. Oh boy, come all night, the naps,
all the road Warriors, legion of him. I'll takes on the world
heavyweight champion, right flare and animals in the black House Stampede final. That's
right day, the clucket. I myself what half I'm the leader duecause the
opportunity to get the ring with the biggest sex poten and the best reference and
aver ring. I'm wrong fun in the National time stamp ain't a kay for
and half I'm laying dollars day the crocket. Have you ever go or my
brother or myself to say anything? So we're gonna do say the ring and
not get in time. No step my god, break day in Chicago,
I'm very silent thing. And the main thing that that breaks me from everybody
else and the buck House champaign is I don't care. I don't care.
I'm not friends, none of us care, animal my referd partner. I
don't care about nothing except winning the half man dollars. Now, let me
explain some of your people. The World bench Press secord and said, here's
the bench press record thing. But they did the brothel thing and counteract but
when we are up, can we'll be gregging that record four large, my
bards. You can't approve that, and everybody out there that you're better than
not you can't do it. Can brother there, I call it Sam Rick
Flair. It's tea for you, dad, your dad, because you got
me jus in the four corners of doom. You got a deal with me
f on one and I don't need my partner animals when I'm in a singles
match, I don't need anything but the heart said I got. I don't
need anything but the mottos I got it. I don't need anything what I
hadn't sick and hard I got for you, Ric Flair, because you can
come out here and tell all these people that you're really dying to get in
the ring with me. Matter of fact is you'll be dying to get out
the difference between you and me, Ric Flair. If we were to make
a bet for a thousand dollars and I was to lose, I wouldn't pay
you. If I was to win the bet, I get my money.
I left I left out how nobody responded to that, because no one knows
what the fuck he's talking. But that's hawk man, he's gonna you know,
he's gonna come up with little aphorisms. Oh he's I know, he's
like something. Sometimes he's like a little too clever for his own good.
That's what I mean. He thinks it's a little too much of a word
Smith. Yeah, he sorry, dude. I mean, I appreciate you
trying to smarten things up, but just fucking yell and stick your tongue out
and call it a day. It's pretty interesting to hear him comment, you
know, and promo for a one on one match as opposed to as a
tag team. Yeah. Right, so it sounded like trying to get people
interested in the Flare match. But yeah, you heard the hint of what
we talked about on the Royal Rumble ad Eh show, where Vincent Company were
trying to front run this upcoming angle between the Road Warriors and the Powers of
Pain where they would have a bench press competition to try to bring the bench
press record. You have to think that the fact that they said this on
a promo to tape this episode of television got back to Stanford and they were
like, let's fucking let's have them break the record before their tape bears let's
have ourselves break the record before the tape bears of the same. Let's get
it done. Let's just do it before they can be a bitch exactly.
So that's that's classic condition of the era. We heard from Animal on the
promo there. Let's hear from him in The Road Warrior's book as well as
he's the author of it, and he talks a lot about this time period
and kind of colors it in nicely. He writes. The competitive war between
jim Crockett Promotions and Vince McMahon was really getting out of control by that point.
The two of them were held bent on beating each other and emerging as
the clear victor. But at what cost. What happened with Starkade caused Jimmy
to kick and to overdrive to develop an answer to Vince's tactics. Should he
have slowed down and focused on the strong points of his NWA franchise, Probably,
But there was no hitting the brakes with Jimmy Crockett. It was all
or nothing by early nineteen eighty eight, Hawks and my attention was once again
directed into the path of a new feud. This time it was against our
newest set of clones, and the Powers of Pain was Paul Jones as freshly
formed tag team of his two biggest and baddest clients, the Barbarian and Warlord.
My old student. Barbarian or Barb had been in and around the business
about the same amount of time as we had, and his gimmick looked very
similar to mine. He had a mohawk face paint in the exact same tights
and boots as we did. Not to mention, at six ft two and
here three hundred pounds, Barb was about my equal in size and strength.
When Warlord was brought out of the picture, he was given hawks, a
reverse mohawk face paint, and the same gear as Barbs. Together, the
pop looked almost exactly like us and had their own conniving manager and Paul Jones
exclusively for them. It's kind of funny too, you know. People always
talk about Demolition being right, and I'm like, Powers of Pain actually looked
much more like them than Demolition did. Right, And they weren't created to
have an LD in another territory. They feuded with the LD, yeah exactly,
Yeah, just as Paul Ellering had for us in the early days.
They were immediately booked into a program with us. The angle was pretty simple.
Jones came out on TV and announced that he had this new Monster tag
team and started making claims that Barb and Warlord were stronger than the Road Warriors.
From there, we started working against the Pop and How shows throughout early
January, which warmed u up for jim crockett promotion second attempt at the pay
per view, the Bunkouse Dampede. The Moncouse Stampede was another Dusty invention and
another ambitious move by Jimmy Crockett to compete with the WWF. Dustin Crockett even
decided to take the show up to Long Island at the Nassau Coliseum. It
was a bold statement. It would have been like Vince taking the WWF to
North Carolina at the Greensboro Coliseum and thumbing his nose at Jimmy while history repeated
itself in the form of the Starcades of River series scenario from the previous November.
Soon as the stamped pay per view was announced that to be have to
set it to create the first annual Royal Rumble and offered for pay per view
wrong on the same date. Man it was getting ugly, not only were
the gloves off, but there were brass knuckles. Hawk and I had the
majority of the locker room, and the majority of the locker room had zero
idea how bad things actually were getting. All I knew was that I had
a great time in the bunk house match itself, which was basically an everyman
for himself, no rules battle royal in a cage. Six thousand fans watched
just the pop. Dusty Ivan, Coloff, arn Tully, Alex Luger and
I kicked the crap out of each other for a k Fabe five hundred thousand
dollars prize in a big bronze statue of a cowboy boot. After personally eliminating
Ivan Warlord, I took a boot back in the head from Barb, which
sent me through the cage door and out of the match. When it was
all over, Dusty emerged as the winner of his own main event. He
really calls him, He really calls him. Barb calls him Barb over and
over again. Ya, that's really funny, as if he were Barbara.
I want you to picture Barb when we saw them at a wrestle con last
in the barbon ward. He still traveled together at conventions and such to this
day. They joked about that ye before not returning our call for an interview.
Assholes. Hawk, on the other hand, got another chance to russell
Rick Flair for the world title. He was really amped up for that match.
He always loved working with Flair, so when the opportunity popped up for
him to step into the spotlight with the nature Boy, a Hawk sward to
the occasion. It was essentially the same match as their Bash eighty six encounter,
only this time it was Flair who decided himself by hitting Hawk over the
head with a steel chair. Unfortunately, a solid of a show as the
Bunk House Stampede might have been, it was blown out of the water by
the inaugural Royal Rumble, which also featured a huge Battle Royal for its main
event. Jimmy Crockett was against the ropes and needed to come up with an
answer to the WBF and try to stop the bleeding. When the Stampede was
over and Hawk and I resumed our tag team rivalry with Barb and Warlord,
wouldn't you know it, I got injured for real on January twenty eight through
in a six man tag team match with Paul against the pop and Ivankoloff and
him and Indiana. When things went very wrong during an attempt at summo and
slam in which the three hundred and thirty pound warlord would prop me later early
behind his back and slam himself and me down to the mat. He landed
on the side of my head. Bam. When we first impacted, I
swear my left eyeball popped out and back into the socket like a jack in
the box, and it completely freaked me out. All I knew was that
I was in a ton of pain and couldn't see out of my eye.
I grabbed my face, rolled out of the ring and Yelta Hawk Osh,
shit, man, I think my balls hanging out of my head. Oh,
Fortunately it wasn't, but I knew something was wrong. The pain was
excruciating and my whole head and face were pounding. It was agony. But
Hawk thought I was kidding. He hadn't noticed the fall. Yeah, your
eyeballs hanging out in your heads off its shoulders, too, nice guy.
And then he pushed me back into the ring. When I slowly got tocks
in your eye socket, I had to throw your weight around. What's okay?
Will I throw you away around too. When I slowly got to my
feet, Ivan was coming at me and I told him, Ivan, I
messed up. Let's take it home. We quickly finished the match, with
me getting a super quick wheat clothes line off of Ivan and grabbing the pin.
As soon as it was all over, Pollen Hawk drove me to the
emergency room. On our way out, Warlord Brent up and apologize, asking
if there was anything he could do, but it wasn't necessary. Haven't you
done enough already? I joked, Just like JJ's injury at the War Games,
this was an accident. Anytime you're performing a high risk maneuver that involves
a three hundred thirty pound behemoth falling out of your face, all bets are
completely off. When we went to the medical center in him and the X
ray machine they had was outdated to the point that it wasn't strong enough to
read through my thick head. No kidding, nothing but rocks in there.
Equipped. I've been saying it for years. Oh my god. Okay,
Hawks, So you're that way even in an emergency room. So we hopped
in a car and drove twenty five miles to a Chicago hospital where the injury
was diagnosed mister lurgnitus. The doctor said, matter of fact, like,
your nose is broken, your cheek bonus fractured, you have a hairline fracture
in the back of your skull, and your orbital bone is completely smashed.
I looked at him, thinking, no shit, it smashed. I remember
sitting there holding my nose and feeling like I had to blow out all of
the resulting congestions. Huh, it's smashed, but as it acts, I
think it was because that's a big mistake. As soon as I went to
blow my nose, all of the skin under my left eye started puffing out.
Oh fuck. You know this real, right, boss, that when
you're bleeding intensely from the face, do not blow your nose, even if
it feels like you have to. Is that clogs everything and that's when the
swelling gets out of control. I mean, just think about it, indicating
that my sinus. It was horrendous. Even was the fact that I had
to put off the necessary surgical repair until after the TV tapings and Greensboro in
two days, we had a highly anticipated little bench press contest to attend because
Paul Jones has been mouthing off for so long about how much stronger Barb and
Warlord were than us. I had suggested Dusty that we have a bench press
contest for ten thousand dollars kfe abe. The event would also service the perfect
chance to have the pop attack us kfabe injuring my orbital bone. It was
a rare example of incorporating a legit entry into a storyline as a way to
explain its origin. So, with my face literally needing reconstructive surgery in my
mind half out of it due to the pain medication, I walked out into
the Greensboro Colisseum to put on one hell of a show. Only one person
from each team was selected to compete Barb and I. The bench was set
up right next to the ring in a large piece of plywood with various sizes
of weight plates lying all around. They'd had a bin of chalk powder so
we could secure our grip on the bar. We opened with a legit starting
weight of four hundred and seventy five pounds and I went first and I banged
it right up. My eye didn't even hurt. The crowd gave me a
big ovation, changing my name animal Animal, Animal, Thanks for that.
Joe, it was music to my ears. In response to my left Barbe
sat down to the bench, got a tight grip and pressed the weight up
as if it were a hundred and thirty five pounds. Barb was one strong
dude. After our first lists were officially completed, we added another plate bring
the real weight to five hundred pounds for extra Dramahawk and I acted like we
were staggering off to the side and finally announced we wanted no part of five
hundred pounds. We wanted six hundred pounds. Again, the crowd went insane
and gasped. As an additional two more plates were added to the bar,
which was starting to bend in the middle. Paul Jones, who didn't want
anything to do with such a big weight so early in the contest, told
Ella ring that he only wanted five hundred pounds, then poked him in the
chest and an instant precious Paul smack Jones across the face. Whack. We
ran to a side and got into a stare down with the pop and their
cohort Ivan Coloff. The slap had proved to be the spark that would light
the impending power to keg at tension with the six hundred pounds loaded under the
bar, I paced back and forth like a snorting bull, turned to the
audience and posed with a big roar, and sat down to take position for
the lift. And that's when all hell broke loose. As Hawk, my
spotter, was about to help lift the bar from the rack, Ivan grabbed
the pin of chalk powder and dumped the whole thing into his and my faces.
While we were both blinded the pop, Ivan and Paul Jones attacked us,
taking me in particular and ramming my face into the bar boom. Now
everyone had a kfib explanation for my very real injury. The funny thing about
the attack is that after I was thrown into the bar backward bam, I
yelled to Hawk to get out of the way, and it landed two inches
from his arm, which would have been crushed on impact. The bar started
rolling towards the audience. Finally, at the very last second, two of
the officials ran over and stopped it from flattening the ringside fans. When it
was all over, Hawk, Poll and I were laid out on the floor
and shambles. The whole scenario gave me the proper amount of time to sell
my new injury and get the overdue surgery. When I did have the procedure,
as HI have a threshold of pain, as I may have, it
was beyond brutal. In order to gain the proper access to the David chorbital
the surgeon had to cut through the roof of my mouth, oh fuck,
while simultaneously slicing through the bottom of my eye. In order to reconstruct my
orbital bone had to be shaved off of the side of my nose for building
materials. Then the doctors actually used a sort of superglue to pain escapingly and
hear tiny bone fragment to tiny bone fragment until the shape and structural integrity of
the orbit had been restored. Ladies and gentlemen, the road Warriors changing lot
going on their boss Jesus. So that's the bench press angle to match the
Dino thing and rumble. That's why it resulted in a and an injury thing.
That's why the promos are being cut to introduce the powers of pain that
probably tipped Stanford off. And it's all great stuff flair versus Hawk bunk House
eighty lock up to the corner plush off and there goes Rick. You know
you don't believe he's flying off a collar and elbow. I think I have
I have a little I think I got a little bit of a repeat.
But there's something else here because Caddle says something that celebrates Rick Flair as well
as Jr. In my opinion, I know you've seen a lot of NWA
World champions. I think the Rick ware is the greatest heavyweight champions all the
time. And you can look back as far as you want to look.
That's just my opinion. He's been there five times, Jim. He's taking
on all the competitors. You gotta hand it the Rick Flair and he calls
that he's taking on every And if you know what I know, in reaching
years, the guys who've gotten bigger, they've gotten stronger, they've gotten more
powerful than when you maintain a chaptership like Clare has gone. I guess the
calendar of the competition of the day that says what do you are? It's
stuff Ye, some scene setting that's also missing from peacock flair and purple trunks
and white boots. By the way, yes, ellering because I know you're
interested. Is in a tasseled leather jacket at ringside, Hawk with the side
headlock to the that are we sure that's Paul Ellering or is that actor James
b sicking from Doogie howser and Star Trek three, look up, look up
specific Star Trek three. God, look at him. It's good stuff.
Bow that's pretty much him. That's what he's going for, at least,
such a fucking weirdo. Talk on the side headlock to the corner. They
go Flair, chops and of Hawk No sells it and stands there and walks
him down, wiping off his chest from the impact. Jared says the only
reaction he saw was possible was a blink of the eyes from Hawk there.
He says, it must be like hitting a brick wall, chopping the hawk.
Flare with the knee lift and chop and hits the ropes and goes down
off a shoulder block. He hits again, and he goes up delayed,
and the crowds into it, and you better believe Flare has dropped in a
grilla opress slam. It's simple, Yes, it's effective, it's flair.
I always think of the story Flare tells first time he gets to WWF and
goes up to Huk in the locker room about what they're going to do for
their first match, and he basically pitches, you know, this is what
I do against the guy like this, So I get the Hawk match.
You know're gonna take a grill opress this night and the other I'd like to
do this then, And Hogan's like, oh, that's not how we do
it, brother, And how Hogan dismissed the guerrilla oppress I thought was so
sad because this is like, this is Flare in the eighties is taking a
grill oppress from a heel, like, yep, that's magic. Of course
he gets the oh god, he rolls out at his snail's pace. When
he gets back in, Hawk lifts him in another grill oppress and drops him.
Had bought Flair flop, Hawk goes nuts with stops him that It really
is like the the idea that Flair was able, Like that's how Flair helped
get people over as threats to the title. Was absolutely the idea that that
almost everybody, despite the size, despite the power or whatever, they could
press slam Rick Flair. And it was so good for the match to it
such a big action moment yep. True, the crowd in and it's all
Flair taking all the risk yep and and it makes and it makes some I
don't know, especially with Flair as a heel, it makes it makes him
look so vulnerable and it makes you feel like, oh, this is only
a matter of time. He's gonna fucking kick his ass, right. I
just find it really interesting that when he went over there, Hulks mentality was
like no, like like in the NWA, every Rick Flair match, all
of his opponents kind of looked the same because Flair would take the same moves
from them because that's the moves he took best. It's like, this guy,
even if he didn't do a grill oppress when he wrestled with Rick Flair,
better believe he guill oppressed like crazy, like Lex Luger and Sting.
Right. You know, it's not like they did that at every match,
but every time they wrestled Rick Flair, they could will ipress the shit out
of him because it looked great. But Hogan wasn't willing to go there.
He wasn't willing to build his match against Ric Flair around spots Rick Flair does.
He didn't want it to be. I don't know, I think,
which is kind of funny because like, all he's doing is making you look
good man. Yeah, but he's sort of like reimagining the WWF and his
own image. He's kind of like bringing a match that's totally associated with the
other company to a WWF ring, And I don't I think that might have
been a step too far for them, Like, no, you're gonna come
here and you know, dance to our playbook. You know, we're not
going to just let you go in there and define all of our baby faces
offense based around what you can take best. I think that was like a
thing interesting. I never thought of it, but when I read that anecdote,
I was like, I'm trying to like figure out where where it comes
from. Because Hogan was not opposed to press slamming Flair off the top rope
like Flair as does. But these mid ring power slams, no way partner
in not power slams, grill opressed slams. It's this weird, like,
I mean, I guess I see, like, but I've seen and do
one of those. That's probably I mean, I guess that's probably a too.
I guess we've never at least seen him do that. Someone said,
are trying trying it? He just likes his No, so yes, Hawk
with a head butt, there's a full flow. No, dude, I'm
not digging creative brother at all. Dude, I'm not creative that shit.
This isn't fucking you know out there, dude, Yeah, Rick, Rick,
come on in for a second. Yeah, this isn't served to so
late. All right, Pal, We don't for that anything, you know,
we don't know what it is that you you're trying to do here in
Pale. Like you know, we have we have a formula that that it's
worked for us and that it continues to work for us, and that will
continue to work for us as long as I say that it continues to work
for us. That's correct, despite what the Boston office receipts. So,
I mean, you know we're doing fine here Pale. I think it's not
us. You know, you're the new guy and this is your rookie year.
Pal, It's not us that needs to adjust to you. It's you
who needs to adjust to us. Thank you, all right, thank you,
terry brother. And business gets done and then Hawk gets a drop kick
and J. J. Dillon is pacing with his hands in his pockets at
ringside, trying to keep the school, but his Hawk piles up the offense.
He's getting concerned. Hawk then drops a fist to the face of Flair,
who's begging off right hands, hooks him up hip toss. Flair lands
hard Flair Ladies and gentlemen rook. Flair takes a hip toss out of the
corner assigned yes, and when he hits the mat, he goes j JJ.
He's screaming for jji jjd JJ. Flair goes to the apron. Hawk
hooks him up outside in big suplex scores on the nature Boy whipping a bear
hug. Fifty five minutes remaining. Can I can I tell you something?
And this is this is again? This is this is stuff that I recognize
only only having my gone into the ring and felt and had that experience.
But you got to look at how and listen. I know part of it
is is laziness, but you got to also think about it. You know,
Hawk takes his time with stuff with with with hitting Flair, like with
the press slam. He doesn't go right in and attack him. You know,
you really it is so important to to to really save your energy and
save your breath because it's it's amazing how fast it goes. It's amazing how
fast it goes. And to have moments like this because you know where you
think about it. He lifts him up, he pressed slams him, and
then he kind of walks around for he doesn't go right in for the kill.
He walks around for a moment. He takes a beat, and it's
probably about maybe twenty seconds before another thing happens. The crowd is, as
did, does not quiet down. Flair's selling. You know, it's like
this is that's how you pace yourself. You know, like it's it's one
of those weird things when you're not comfortable in the ring or you haven't had
that the experience of it, you you you feel the emptiness a lot more
than than uh, you would like if you kind of knew how to how
to play the crowd. I kind of think about it. Always makes me
think about the Paul Roma story. I think I talked about a years ago
because I remember I listened to his interview with that went with with Steve Austin
on his podcast, and Roma talks about working with Fuji and how Fuji would
say, you look, you know when you know, you know, you
know, like you keep working at it, you keep working at it,
and then at some point you kind of just feel the crowd and you realize
what you need to do. Like it was like kind of an instinctual thing
that just comes from doing it. And I'm always it's an amazing thing to
to find your comfort in that where you can just walk around and you can
take your time and not be like anxious about I got to entertain this pore
right. And also the fact that it's going to take everyone who watching a
little more time to soak in what just happened. You know, That's that's
something I feel like in some ways, MMA and whatnot has ruined for wrestling
in that you know, you can't really those moments now look fake. Yes,
you know when when someone pressed slams somebody and then the other person is
like hurt on the mat and rolling around and the other guy walks around like
they just you know, when you see real fighters do that, it's like
no one does that. They fucking if they're in a situation like that,
they are on top of that person beating the shit out of them. Yeah,
you know, but nonetheless in terms of of of pacing yourself from from
a performance perspective. I'm just I'm always amazed at at at that and just
just the idea that again taking your time and not being afraid of having a
little bit of silence or having a little bit of of of nothing happening,
you know, it's it's really it's such a and in that way, it's
very very much an art in how to you know, recognize that, Yeah,
I know that you can command the people's attention even if you're not doing
something athletic at the moment yea, yep, or exciting for that man like
like physically exciting. Yeah, it is. It is a good point about
how it kind of mma kind of ruined it and like the faster pace.
You know, it's like whenever you try to do a match with action figures
or you play video game, and it's like it never feels like a television
match because you're not inclined to do nothing for eighty seconds between moves right right,
you know, like in no mercy, you want to pounce right away.
Everything has to be like take down, to move to move right back
up on each other. And that's sort of like you know, the Dynamite
Kid Citrus Siama style, and that's just like a one kind of match that's
like a junior heavyweight all action, you know what I mean, no time
to breathe, no space kind of match. That's like ten percent of matches,
not ninety percent of matches. And so it's like the real thing that
feels like a match involves a lot of things that just don't you know,
if you're like trying to imagine these guys as superheroes, they wouldn't do this,
but they're athletes. They're like with a strategy. It's it's non action
that that that, you know, and it's what kind of makes to me.
It's it's the kind of stuff that that is is it ruins matches like
like the one we saw one, I like all of them, a bunch
of matches we saw at the Summer Slam pay per view a couple of weeks
ago. It's just like they the breaks in between, aren't there there breaks?
They're forced breaks to be like soak in the crowd and also kind of
let us let a high spot. You know, like so many matches today
are high spot break, A little bit little bit of high spot break a
little bit, a little bit, a little bit of high spot break like
that's the that's the formula, whereas these kinds of breaks here where it's like
there's just a there's an easier to flow, it's a it's a more gradual
incline for the match to take off. Like it's not it's not these it's
today it feels more like these peaks and peaks and valleys in matches. Peaks
and matches are all about peaks and valleys instead of having a gradual incline maybe
a plateau, maybe a valley here. But also but like really for the
most part, just gradually getting up to a climax. And and I think
that's it's that's I mean, I know that's something that's missing for the most
part nowadays. You don't have that that gradual incline to excitement. And it's
a shame because that's that's what makes that's what makes not great matches still entertaining
because you can get invested in that because it's not like it's not these quick
peaks and valleys. Yeah, and st I think a lot of the reason
there's peaks and ellis is because everyone started having to kick out of finishers to
have an epic match, right, So it's like you got to build in
that steady incline. But that's just the first false finish as opposed to the
finish, right, And they're always false finishes. I'm not saying that's a
kind of new thing. But no, it didn't hit these You didn't hit
these incredibly impactful moves for every false finish, like yeah, yeah, And
it's like, now the crowd doesn't really think it's epic until you kick out
of the finisher because everyone has five of them now and it's a little stupid.
It's a little unnecessary to me, Like the mentality of the match of
the wrestlers, in my opinion, should be I wouldn't do as little as
possible to win this match. Ye, Like, I'm only going to go
for like risky, high impact, crazy stuff if my opponent forces me to.
Because they're right right, there are a problem. I kick in my
hands on them. I can't keep them down. What usually works isn't working.
But every single match, everybody hits the same moves, and you know,
rows three hours, it's like, you know, anybody that's any good
as a worker is going to be put out there for twenty five minutes every
week, so they go through all their you know, ABCDE finishers every single
week. So there's no fucking prayer by the time we get to the pay
per view that anybody's going to buy those finishers is to finish. There's like
two more twists to come before we really can dial in and feel like the
finish is coming. And it just doesn't have to be that way. It
can just be you know, one stunner and you win for a year and
a half if that's your finisher, you know, just like stop stop having
fourteen finishers. If guys kick out of near falls, have it be moves
that you don't do all the time, have it be you know, have
it be anything but the move that's the real killer. And then yeah,
every year every two years at WrestleMania, somebody kicks out and it means something
as opposed to everyone's sitting on their hands until they kick out for the match
to really hit that right that moment. And again, just like the the
the flow of the match, like it it's so yeah, the the slow
climb is just what is so ah it it changes the game, you know
it it's in a weird way. It's like what separates the men from the
boys. I think in that if you can do a slow build and not
worry about crazy, crazy action, but you're you're working to get the crowd
invested in who's going to win, then that's that's it. Then you've won.
Man, You're you're better off than these clowns doing all these these these
you know, high peaks and ship Yeah. I agree, I agree.
And the thing is, there's so many guys that can do it that just
choose not to do it because you know, they want to be as action
packed as possible. And it's uh yeah, but you know how but like
when every when everybody and their mom is action packed, that's this is the
time now to to to start doing them. JF is exhibit A on that.
Sure. Yeah, absolutely, yeah, yeah, I mean that that
thing that when we were there in Boston, like that was it Like,
that's that's the him him, you know, like we talked about it,
how he building up a fucking suicide dive, suicide dive for like the whole
fucking match, like a simple ass suicide dive nothing. I mean, it
was just amazing. He was like crazy how people reacted to that simple move
and then Seth does, and then Seth does, yeah, fucking three of
them, and then a million top rope moves and yeah, no one gives
a shit like you really need to. It's like I challenge you, Seth,
don't do a suicide dive for a year. Yeah, and then and
then we'll all luxuriate in the response you get when you finally do one.
Right, I mean, suicide ives are so stupid anyway, they hardly ever
look good. Only like Darby Allen knows how to do it. You actually
shoot yourself out of the ring like a cannon. Is Brett Brett was the
only one who Brett was the one who really introduced it to WWE fans,
like on a on a regular basis. I know the rockers did them too
and stuff, and they were good at them, but like it's high risk,
low reward. At this point that moved to me, that's how punk
tours, tri Sep. It's like punk, nobody wants you to do it
dive like stop right, Punk's good at what you're saying too, kind of
like breathing in between moves and yeah, well, because he's old school,
he has he's old right, he's old, old school. It doesn't make
a lot of sense, you know, I think what's key to those in
between moments, like you can recontextualize the psychology to have it makes sense even
post UFC. You know, you tell yourself, this person's taking a long
time because unlike in UFC, they need to keep someone's shoulders down for three
and that is a much more laborious process than just rushing to punch the guy
enough times that the ref will step in. Yeah, you don't have gloves
on, so you don't have the protection of the UFC fighter to punch until
your heart's content to the gut. Steps in, you could break your hand.
So that's why you don't rush like that. Now, this is all
things no one wrestling thinks about, but I'm as an MMA fan can offer
these suggestions as to how announcers can have it make sense. Also, the
idea like these moments you're talking about in between moves, where they're stalking around
the ring and letting things register to me, The psychology of that that was
so satisfying was always there thinking about what to do next. There's a million
moves they can pick from, but what are they going to do? Next
based on what just happened and what do they think is the right path to
go down to beat this opponent. And similarly, like Flair's getting his ass
beat, but what's he thinking about? What's he going to do next when
he's on the map, you know, ailing to turn to turn the tides.
That's that's what the psychology I think of those in between moments is supposed
to be. It's not a rest, It's not like because you don't have
another move to do. It's because you have to think about what the best
use of your energy is next is This is going to be a long,
a long game. And because also a similar thing in MMA that I can
point out is unlike an MMA where there's a cage to stop people from spilling
out of the ring, and wrestling, not only can you hit the ropes
for a break, you can tumble out of the ring. So if you'd
like pounce on somebody because you knock them down and try to finish them,
like an MMA, like they can get out. They can just they can
just scatter right out of dodge. They can just roll out of the ring,
and you can find yourself tackling them through the ropes too. And so
it's like it's not as and once it gets to the ropes, it's it's
a break anyway, unlike in UFC, where you can corner the guy against
the fence and or an MMA ring and fire away all day. So I
think there are ways to like that'd probably go back, you know, eighty
years of explaining the rope break in the first place and trying to work pro
wrestling, you know, at a time when half the stuff would shot anyway
and would go three hours and the spectator wouldn't be satisfied. Yeah, good
stuff. Interesting. I didn't expect Hawk Flair to get us there, but
it's kind of a good example of it in a way. But it is
because here's you know, in terms of because because because it's surprising. You
know. Granted, I know Flair's you know, Flare's the guy who can
you know, you know, who can carry a fucking newborn to a fucking
three star match at this point, but you got to look at Hawk as
being a guy that is not known for having these incredible matches, but it's
still create like he's still able to do his job, and yeah, work
with Flair allow Flair to to do the hard work and making him look like
a million bucks. But you know again, I'm just I'm always I'm always
looking for for for why why it used to feel better? Yes, why
it used to feel real? And for me personally's just say it. We
we present moms, and you can dispute it, but don't act like we're
not ring exactly why it is we feel this way, and and also on
a personal level for me, like I'm always curious to see how wrestlers can
hold off getting gassed in two minutes. Oh yeah, because I'll never I'll
never forget. I'll never forget my first you know, the first Renaissance Rumble
match, and how fucking like two seconds. I'm I'm like, what the
fuck? I could hardly breathe. I could hardly breathe. That was so
goddamn tired. Yep, Like I just like, you know, I'm not
even tired. I'm not tired. I'm just like out of breath, Like,
yep, It's amazing how fast it can go. Yeah, you're your
mind and body are on trying to, you know, mimic the intensity of
what you see on TV and Flaire flail your body around, but you don't.
You haven't had the time in to know how much energy it takes to
sell that way, and it's like right, and not only that, but
but how to effect looking intense as opposed to being intense. Yes, yes,
you know, and there is a difference, like they I mean,
like that's that's one of the things they taught there, you know, Grizzly
Joe talks about that and how it's like you you need to feign the intensity.
I thought a great example was when we talked to Ken Shamrock at that
Star cast in Vegas, and he was explaining how an mma like if you
grab a hold or grappling, if you have somebody in a lock, like
you can feel them squeeze your fucking hand for all it's worth. The grip
is strong and digging and intense, and people are putting their strength to use.
Whereas in pro wrestling, if you're going for that exact same move,
it's light as a feather. You're not squeezing your muscles, You're not exerting
yourself when you don't have to, even if the move is supposed to create
the appearance that you're exhibiting yourself. Yea, yep, that's like all the
illusion that you probably only pick up if you try to do it. It's
all the illusion, you know, it's it's all about creating me, even
the idea of faking the injury. It's like, you gotta take it easy,
like you don't have to fucking put all You don't have to actually be
in like you know, be in pain if you will, like you don't
have to strain like if I'm like, if you're wrestling around with like a
sibling, right, or a friend or a buddy or something, and you
you're you're pro wrestling and are trying to hurt them, but you put like
an ankle lock on them, like you're gonna strain your arms, like you're
really twisting the ankle but it's holding up. But you're you're putting your body
through all kinds of stress, like you're you're trying all kinds of energy.
There's like the wrestlers don't do that. They know they don't look like they're
flexible muscles, but they're not. They're playing zero pressure exactly and they're and
and zero strain on their on their body. They bring just enough that they
have to do to make it look like it and again not this ten step
ball of you know, ustle. It's kind of the thing. Yeah,
that's that's that's the art in so many ways, is it's like, let's
let's get out there and like not actually not actually exert ourselves at all.
Let's just like hang like a like a limp noodle, you know, out
there, because ten minutes out there, Man, it doesn't seem like a
long time, but man, is it is a long time. That's right.
Yeah, it's so funny because you know, we say these things like
uh, like it's like it's an obstacle to overcome that you get so tired
so fast. But like if the fan, if the wrestling fan was educated
to that that that fatigue you know, is a real thing, then it
could create a whole other way to tell stories in wrestling. I feel like,
you know, yeah totally, because now we have this expectation that nobody
ever gets tired ever, and we celebrate the wrestlers that can go at a
breakneck pace in minute one and minute twenty eight, and it's like there's no
story of like, no, you can't do those moves anymore. Man,
you're fucking exhausted. Like anybody to watch UFC, you know, it's like
it's a cardio game. You know, like twenty years ago, let's say
fifteen, ten years ago, even you know, guys had reputations they were
front runners. They went for it all early because they knew they just did
not have the cardiovascular conditioning to last fifteen minutes or twenty five minutes whatever the
fight called for. And it's less now everybody, you know, you kind
of can't compete at a serious level without having enough gas to go that long.
It's very rare that somebody gets tired as a as a trait, you
know, like this guy gets tired, so that's like a knock against him.
The big punchers would have that problem often, but I always thought that
was so potentially instructive for wrestling. It's like these guys are all bricked up,
like that's what uses so much of the oxygen is feeding those muscles like
that. Just tell that story, say like, these guys are being methodical
because they don't want to hit a wall and be sitting ducks for a fucking
barrage of punches from somebody that's you know, and in better shape than them,
or just has more gas than them. You know. It's yeah,
and then you can tell a different story around the smaller wrestlers, where it's
like, yeah, they might be at a huge size disadvantage and it might
look ludicrous. But if you introduce the element of like, yeah, this
guy's bricked up, but in five minutes he's going to be gassed and this
other guy's got twenty minutes and I and now he's kicking his ass, that's
awesome. Yes, Now he just have to be clever about it. He's
just he has to be clever to avoid you know what they used to They
used to bring that kind of stuff up too. They used to talk about
that kind of stuff. How you know, if this match goes a long
time, it's gonna favor the smaller guy. They would say that. That's
a good point, would say that. But but you know again, I
think they can play that up a little bit more more even, you know,
like finish for a guy who's huge runs out of gas in eight minutes
and the smaller guy beats him in three because he can't do anything. His
arms are just useless, his legs are useless. He can't. I mean,
that's yeah, And they never bring it up like that though, Like
that would be tremendous, very educate. Yeah, that would educate the fan
quite a bit. I think if you have finishes like that, and and
it creates a lot of excitement because the big guy is like kind of now
in a mad dash to finish the match because he knows. But now,
but now we celebrate the big guys for having little guy cardio. You know,
guys get jobs because they can last long and go hard and fast and
long and can do backflips and shit. So it's at a huge size.
It's very strange situation we ended up in. But anyway, that wasn't a
problem back then. Here a bear hug stampede, bunk house stamped He does
the bear hug. He does do that, does Hawk, and then Tony
Shivani's fifty five minutes remaining, and somewhere Hogan does say brother when he hears
that. Hawk then converts the bear hug to a cover one two and then
he punches Rick in the gut. Dylan tremendous blowing off anxiety at ringside,
just just a ball of nerves. Flair goes nuts with chops, but Hawk
doesn't budge. Flair begs off. There's some judo chops Jr. Sis Oh
my God. First he says something else and then he says karate. He
says karate or Judo chops or Judo chops, and Jim, you had it
right the first time. There are no chops in judo. How about Judo
leg locks? Yeah? Right, well those are the thing. Judo arm
bars yeah? How about Joe strikes is the point slam? Yeah? Judo
Yeah, Judo punches Judo flying the Oh God. So Hawk now with a
flying shoulder block off the ropes and Jrs Is Flair is as limp as a
dish rag. As they hit the floor and Flair rakes the eyes into the
rail, goes Hawk, but he no sells it. So Flair puts the
steps in front of Hawk and he picks them up and heaves them out of
the way. Awesome, ye, great thing. The power over Flare comes
in, chops Hawk, gooseles Flare with the Flair comes back with a low
blow to get out of that situation. Referee Dick Crawl pretends to not know
what happened off the low blow. Flare then kicks and chops. There was
a there was a funny uh, there was a funny thing with that flying
tackle. Jr. Says this. It's it's funny, which I can guarantee.
Flare was anything but limp as a dish rag at the Long Island Mariot
across the street of the show, or at the Harry's Bar. You're talking,
yeah, Harry's Bar, whatever, God help us. Definitely not,
definitely not limp as a dish rag. Flare with kicks and chops and rakes
Bob Cuddles is without the title. Rick Flaire doesn't have limousines in his way
of life. Jim no would. Why why he's gonna get paid less for
his next match? And like, no doubt it, Flare the Snapmare crowd
getting up. Flare drops the need for two. Rick Flair throws Hawk to
the floor, went to the rail and it comes flipping off, and oh
someone in the front rows slipping him off. Security reaches out like stop,
like don't reach for him. Yes, a little too excitable. There's for
some reason a huge amount of space between the front row and the ringside railing
on this show. I don't know what that configuration is all about. Yeah,
that's interesting, isn't it. Yeah. Doug Dillinger sitting there holding the
big gold belt, looking like someone in the Reagan administration or the Dcacus administration.
It's it's so true. I mean, he looks like he looks like
such a dweeb sucking this fucking his hair like he's got he's got that fucking
that almost like motorcycle helmet hair, but with the part kind of like us
to make its been around this long, it really is like, what what,
dude, what do you mean with Doug? I mean, seriously,
what's your goal? How are you justifying your salary? What do you what
do you? Uh, you know, listen, I hope I'm sure you
got paid. Well, I'm sure you you know, Like, what what's
the deal man? What's your what's your fucking is this? It is this
all you ever dreamed of? Right? This is where you wanted to be.
Dog, Let's talk on the sidelines, watching, you know, and
just like and then and then and then doing stupid ass security bullshit. My
life on the sidelines, my life, trying to uh, my my life,
proffering solutions in search of a problem, my life that I was putting
out fires, my life at ringside of the fakest sport of them all,
which is so rich because he's implying all sports are fake to something great,
the fakest sport of them all, because we all know some degree they're all
phony. That's wrestler brain for you. Back in Flair off the top of
the double lax handle and a snap mare in a knee drop. I love
the idea because Flair is elite. All he needs is one small opening and
starts running away with the match Hawks caliber. Very nice window, and he
says, Land, He's always looking for a fucking window. That's what it
is. Yes, always looking for a window. Whip dropped down and Hawk
with the Hangman's new neckbreaker Flare is an agony taking netman. Hawk misses the
fish drop though his knee. I mean, okay, number one, number
one. That neck breaker. That neck breaker is superb. It's one of
the best. Thank you only he and Rick Rude. Thank you do that
neck breaker. It must teach it the right way in Robinsdale, I guess.
So it must be a Minnesotan thing. And then also so he misses
the fist shop, lands on his knee, and Flair having to go to
school the great White Shark. Thank you. He smells blood in the water
and it's time to go to work on the fucking leg kicks the knee,
sits down. Hawk, let's out of shit. It's just going to work,
Flair. I love love that. I love the fucking swearing, you
know, because it's especially funny because like you know, like, oh,
he's not really hurting him, but like you got a fucking swear, Like
it's hilarious. Yeah it is. It's it's charming. It's like a thing
they would do at arena shows and how shows and like not stop to think
that we're actually live on television here. Ah, but fucking leg Yeah,
awesome. Yes, Flare with a low blow and the ref is tracked,
and then Flair gets the referee to look at Paul Ella Ring who's stalking JJ
Dillon on the floor, and JJ with his hands behind his back smiling.
He's up to no good. Jr. Says he's never seen Hawk in a
position like he is right now when its entire career. I wonder how big
JJ Dillon's head is. It looks huge. Yeah, like we're talking about
if he's wearing an old school baseball hat with the right you know, with
the little little snaps there. I mean, he's got to be at the
two two most, you know, like a massive, massive, fucking I
mean, he's it's just it's ridiculous how big his fucking head is of it.
It says Ato six Eastern time on the big clock at the Nassau Call
Seam for those counting along at home. So I think the rumble has probably
started by now let me let me see here are we It's in Yeah,
our hour one is done? No, is it? Yeah? It says
Ato six. It's that's how wow, Jesus Christ, it's like nothing almost
yeah, I would love so. Now, now this is where they're in.
If they're either we're they're in the middle of the of the women's of
the women's tag match, got it at this point and leading into uh,
the the Hogan, the contract signing, Jesus, we're leading into that.
After that the contract signing begins. Look, it's one thing to find people
who remember going through the steps to have to buy this on pay per view
and watching it as it happened. It's a it's a It's one thing to
find somebody who watched the Royal Rumble the first time it ever aired on USA
network. And what's interesting, it's another thing to find somebody who had two
TV set up. I think anybody at the balls do that in eighty eight,
Yes, anybody like flipping back and forth. I would never do that
if I paid for a show. I was so superstitious about that. Yeah,
but if you switched off the pay per view channel when I came back,
it would be gone. I would imagine that there were people at least
that that. Maybe there were people who had their grandparents tape one of the
shows. Yes, the royal rumbles we talked about on that show did replay
later in the week on USA because it ranked in the cable rankings. But
I'm not sure they promoted that very well. I'm not sure you would be
able to say, I'll just watch Bunkhouse because I know the rumbles being replayed.
Yeah, I don't think you'd know that at all. But I mean
that's I'm fascinated, fucking fascinated by how people handle that. Like a Maltsor
would have had to figure it out, But he had to figure out Starcade
and Survivor series too, because San Jose was one of the few markets that
stuck with Jim Crockett and the showdown and made Starkade. What did he say?
He said something about that did he drive to a friend's house or something
like that. That was WrestleMania two, I believe, or yeah, or
one. He was like driving and like he ended up at the wrong house.
He was in he was in New York. He was in New York
WrestleMania one. He talks about New York. Okay, yeah, because he
talks about the energy, like the actual energy. I remember that, just
being blown away by that. It's amazing. I don't remember, forget what
he said about yeah, star Kade. He said something about how are you?
Yeah, I don't remember. Yeah, yeah, I do remember what
you're saying now. Yeah, he tried to fit both in. I think
yeah he did because because because one was on earlier, it was possible to
see both. Fucking massive, where's my doubleheaders? Guys? Can A W
and WW get together and just like seriously not get together, but just not
fuck with each other at the point, can you imagine they'd be fucking business
if they had a show, if they did shows on the same day.
Honestly, if I was if I was out all day, I'm not moving.
Yes, I don't even care what the cards are. The novelty it
doesn't do we can you imagine that would be a double live call, would
do it? Sure? You know, like a W one from like New
to this fucking all in show and Wembley's an opportunity because they're on UK time,
so it's three Eastern in the in the States. For primetime in the
UK, you know they run three to six peacock from fucking seven to ten.
Count me in man, that's it's wonderful. Both shows will gain.
But you know, I don't know it's never gonna happen, but I just
I miss I missed that sort of like whenever we go back and look at
the eighties, that's one thing I really that's kind of the fun competitive rivalry
of it all. Like they weren't avoiding each other. They were like bad
they were going for each other throats in a way they weren't. They weren't
afraid of, like of looking less than it was like, no, fuck
it, I'm gonna you know, I'm gonna challenge these motherfuckers. I'm gonna
give give fans a choice. And what I mean is being able to watch
both on the same weekend without that overlappings. I know they've done NXT MAKA
shows against a W shows and of course Collision was on TNT is the same
night as Slam as they just started their Saturday night live show summers LAMB is
the first time it conflicted with a w W pay per view night. And
I'm not talking about on at the same time. I'm talking about staggered one
day after the other, or I mean it would say it would be a
massive money day totally. I mean, you look at WrestleMania weekend and all
the indies that set up shop around WrestleMania days. It's that. It's that
notion, all right. So Flair again with a low blow, yes,
yes, okay, Flair with knees to the knee of Hawky's working that leg
like you said, and they respond to the Wu big chop. They exchange
hawk throws, big hand side headlock, and Flair with a gold and high
back suplex. I mean, Jesus Christ, Flair's suplexing somebody in the eighties
with a delay front back. I don't care vertical suplex, just fucking you
know, give it, give it, give me, Flair exploding into a
moment of technical wrestling inspirations. Yes, right, a guy who's trying to
find every trick to get an edge. But suddenly you realize this guy has
the best suplex ever. Yeah, somewhere in the arsenal. If he feels
like the time is right, you can unload a picture perfect offense. Yes,
Hi back Suplex scrambles to get the legs, drags Hunt with the corner,
runs the leg into the post. Does Flair kicking at the leg,
picking at the ankle, stepping over, hooks the figure four. It's it's
locked in. Flair and grabs the ropes for extra leverage. Ask him,
ask him Hawks shoulder shop only for one is Flair woos and grabs the ropes
again. Hawks starts scooting back. No ropes for leverage the rock, but
none for Hawky either. But now he's trying to get him over with all
the strength he can mustard. But enough about Flair. Proud on their feet
as he reverses the figure four, does Hawk Paul Ella ring at ringside with
his hands up like touchdown You reverse it? Flair shaking the blonde hair.
You know the trill, you know how sellow reverse figure They get to the
ropes. Flaire, my god, he goes Jesus Christ, Oh John,
Oh God, Jesus Christ. Flare elbows and limbs and yelps and cells climbs
the ropes anyway, okay, Hawk wobbling over, cuts him off, tosses
off the top rope. Of course he does quoter star begging off his flair.
Hawk with these chops like barely moving, just as arms going because his
legs are shot Chicago road Royer chop house here, thank you. Corner to
corner whip wow, and Hawk runs through Flair and then referee Dick croll like
two bowling kins behind each other, bang bang with one clothes line. So
now we have Dick Roll on the floor totally dead. Flare whips howckey and
ducks the clothes line and clothes lines Flare over the topness Hawk another ref bump.
By the way, on this show, of course, it was keeping
tracks. That's all three matches thus far. Flair then picks the ankle,
drags Hawk out of the ring, throws him into the post, but it's
block Flair eats it instead goes flailing into the guardrail, and that that leads
us to a coddle phrase here sents. Actually it's Flaire has been working a
lot of technical wrestling. That's kind of like so what's been a brawl about
it? It's not been a brawl like. It hasn't been all punch like
nineteen seventies Matt Matt Hold exchanges. I mean, I guess compared to like
a w a shit, you know, but Beckwood Drive Jesus Christ, so
Flaire has been lacerated, we're told, So that's good news. I don't
know about you, Jim. The only thing I've seen tonight is picked punches
and kicks all night longs. What is this? WWF? I feel like
I'm watching in the New York territory there, Jim, or in New York?
Are York? You know what they say, Jim? I mean,
are we I'll tell you what we're in New York? Are we expecting Hulk
Cogan to come down? Oh my god? You start saying like the governor
in ninety fourth King of the Ring's your favorite listen of all time? Hull
Cogan after they year the fucking thing, calling him fucking goofball. Yeah,
Jim, do you think we're gonna see Hulkamania run wild here at the bunk
House Stampede? Oh my god, Jim, you know it's as impressive as
Rick Flair is you have to wonder does he ever stand a chance of beating
Hulk Cokean. I don't think so, Jim. When you talk about professional
wrestling and the greatness of it all, you talk about Rick Flair, But
is he really that great compared to Hulkoking? Oh my god, that's fucking
what an amazing just category of things. Jim. You know, we're really
proud here to be brought to you by Jim Crockett Promotions, which has been
such a long generational tradition in the Caroline As. You do have to wonder,
though, do the Crocketts have any shot against Vince McMahon's national expansion.
He says this on Bunkhouse Stampede eighty eight during Hawk Forsus. I gotta thank
Jim, you and I are going to be out of a job in Shortholder
thanks to Vince McMahon. Jim, I just want to I want to tell
you, you know, we've been a part of Jim Crockett Promotions and in
the nWay, you know, the longest running traditional wrestling organizations. But I
gotta tell you I firmly believe and I question the longevity of our jobs here
and me with Jim Crockett Promotions, because I just can't see a world in
which the WWE and Vince McMahon don't run us over with a goddamn bulldozer.
Nice headlocked takeover there by Tully Blanchard. But as we know, Jr.
A balloon payment is coming to at the end of the yuning on is incredibly
expensive guaranteed contract. Therefore we can expect him in short order to leave the
NWA, and he's just working a headlock. Jim. I don't know if
you're prepared for this or not, but I've already sent my resume to Vince
McMahon. Well, Jim, we both know that your arrival here was basically
the canary in the coal mine for the collapse of Jim Crockett Promotions. As
soon as I heard you were hired, I immediately and looking for work.
Jim, are you prepared to be on unemployment? Goad? And we've got
a tremendous, a tremendous attendance here in the Nassau Coliseum. It's a wonderful
reception for the NWA here in Long Island. Of course, however, our
production values pale and comparison to those of the world Wrestling Federation, operated and
owned by Vincent Kennedy mcmanaging IF out of Stanford, Connecticut at one two three
four Main Street, Stanley. It starts just totally reading like like this legal
disclaimer about Jim Jim the the WWE. What the world is watching says't during
stant can I can tell you right now, Jim, they're definitely not watching
us. I'll tell you, Jim. It's been an amazing night of some
great matches from the secondary wrestling promotion in America. We are number two,
and that's not if you're including Verne Gagny. Oh my god. Well,
Jim, we shout all over this town to night, and I don't expect
to be back. So for everybody here at the National Wrestling Alliance, thank
you Long Island for coloring Jim. What are it's saying? Your ticket?
God, Jim, Jim. What I'm basically saying is I believe that the
World Wrestling Entertainment is the place to be. It's the future of professional wrestling,
and it's going to be what we consider to be the greatest wrestling promotion
in the history of this business. Well, Jim, you know him,
It's been an amazing night for the National Wrestling Alliance and all of our great
wrestling stars. However, one thing I do have to say is that the
cafeteria at our Dallas offices, from what I understand, pale in comparison to
the top shelf Arara Marks sponsored fucking grub line at Titan Towers in Stanford,
Connecticut. Why is it, Jim, that we, as Jim Crockett Promotions
employees, are second fiddle, second class citizens in the free lunch category.
Jim, this has been an incredible evening here bunk House Stampede. Such incredible
action here NWA Jim Crockett Promotions. But I gotta be honest with you.
About halfway through the show, I switched my monitor over to the Royal Rumble.
Well, Bob, it's been a fantastic mat here at the bunk House
MP. Do you have any closing thoughts as as we send the folks home
happy to night? Well, Jim, I mean I've been watching the Royal
Rumble for about an hour now, so I can't really hope you there.
I can tell you right now what I do have some final words though,
Jim, about the about tonight. I can tell you if you haven't done
it yet switch over to the Royal Rump. It's a fan service, he
provides. Bob. It's been an amazing nactive seen mcflair, the World's heavyweight
champion hang on to it by the skin of his teeth tonight and at the
Bunkhouse Stampede Dusty Rhodes the victor here in Nassau. Policy of many final thoughts.
Well, I get to say, Jim, if you haven't already,
fans turn over back to USA to watch the Real World Champion, Hulk Hogan
talk about his upcoming defense against Honor the Giant next week live on NBC.
Well, Jr. We're all very excited for the premiere of the WWF on
NBC Prime Time. Jim's like, what the fuck are you doing? They
cut to like the crowd, Jim, I'm very excited about the future of
wrestling. I'm very excited about whole Cogan versus Honor of the Giant. That
would have been a whole Wow, what a coup that would have been.
I mean, it's one thing to Steel Crockett wrestlers. Can you imagine if
you've paid somebody to go rogue on the air and like plug the main events.
That's the move right there. Oh God, last week, Bob.
You know it's been a tremendous night here at the National Wrestling Alliance where wrestling
comes first. We've had an amazing series of matches tonight for all of our
fans. Any closing thoughts before we let the folks go to bed, Well,
Jim to subscribe to WWF magazine, right too, Well, Jim,
I want to say promotional consideration paid for this w w E event. Well,
Jim, I couldn't agree more. The World Wrestling Federation is the most
exciting I mean, Jim, I'll tell you I agree with you one hundred
and ten percent. This is the greatest ww ring action we've ever seen.
Thanks guys Cott. That is what I call a sidebar. Jesus Christ,
that's a detour and a deep dive. Fuck it, it's that bunkhouse stamp
his fucking mind. So back then whipping up slam Jesus Christ. Hawk does
the flex flare, scooting back corner to corner lariot by Hawk. He drops
him on the rebound. Jr. Says he's never seen a championship that's this
long without an official reminding. Guess that tick Roll is on the ground.
Finally we see him stirring a bit. Flare brakes the eyes of Hawk,
climbs up. Hawk cuts him off, climbs himself. Crowd gets up big
for this is both on the ropes at a big middle rope. Superplex scores
by Hawk. He covers Flair, but Dylan comes in with a chair smacks
it across the back the ones with the big padding, so it's deeply unsatisfying.
Hawk gets up, Dylan drops the chair, Hawk grabs it on the
apron is Dylan. Flare crowns Hawk with a weak running chair, Shot covers
him one count and then Flair is rolled on top of Dick Kroll on the
kick out, so Dick rolls bumped again backup Flare with a golden vertical suplex.
Hawk gets up, no problem, no cell on the suplex. Crowd
loses it at that moment, they're on their feet because Hawk no cells it
means something. Yep it does. I mean, that's that is, that's
just simplicity at its best. Right When Hawk no cells it means something.
JR. Goes into it. Can you believe this superhuman strength and tenacity as
Hawk with the corner mound throws ten punches this time, thank god, instead
of six Flare, it does a flare flop for the ages out of the
corner, JJ Dillon running his hands through his hair and total anxiety as Hawk
drops the fist on Flair's head. Flare's hair, of course covered in crimson
red. Flair kicks a Hawk, grabs a chair smashes them across the back.
This time Dick Croll sees the offense and calls for the bell. Twenty
one minutes, thirty nine seconds, Road Warrior Hawk defeats Rick Flair by disqualification
as Rick Flair retains the NWA World Heavyweight Championship Boss another deeply satisfying outcome for
the pay per view buyer. Absolutely absolutely, that's what we're here for.
We're here for, We're here for non finishes, and I kind of think
you can hear the crowd grown at this point. I think it's three straight
matches where the finishes, like I know, it's it's not even like a
real clean because that that that previous one, you know, obviously had a
pinfall, but it was still a screwy finish. But so far we've had
three, yeah, three ref bumps in a row. What did the opening
match have a ref bumpy about the Dark Match. The Dark Match, No,
no, I don't think so. But nonetheless, we've seen three ref
bumps, three ref bumps, three disqualifications or two disqualifications in one fucking whatever
was time expiration discussed? Man, it's it's so so stupid. So hawks
AND's Flair inside out in the corner. Flair couldn't get up, up and
over the ropes as he used to, so he drops down and rolls out
of the ring and Dick Crow raises his Hawk's hand to a tepid reaction from
the NASA Telesim. Faithful Jarrison's Flair has never come so close to losing the
title as he was right here. You can say that, uh for every
Rick Flair match from nineteen eighty five to nineteen nine. How about the times
where he's lost the match and lost the belt? He came closer? Then,
I guess Flare up the aisld with a big gold belt Hawk with his
hand raised and the announcement is in twenty one thirty nine, Flare has been
qute and retains the world title. According to referee ring announcer Tony Schivanni during
the replays, they're constructing the cage and my god, is this take forever
here? And we get this incredibly awkward exchange between Jr. And Bob Connell
Flats and gentlemen. To be eliminated from this match, you have to be
thrown over the top of that thing. What's sup quae away up there?
Yeah, it's at least ten feet maybe more than engine I think it's probably
twelve or fourteen fake to the top of the cage. Well, you gotta
be thrown through the cage door, so that means that a pinfall means absolutely
nothing in this matchup. Alright, and right now, let's go back and
watch some slow motion footage of a match that occurred earlier, and that was
the match between Mary Wyndham and Larry's abiscode. I mean, could that has
not been more awkward? There? That's silence where they're waiting for direction.
So bad. Apparently we didn't figure in the cage construction time on a cage
match main event pay per view. This is after they had built the War
Game cage in such a way where it could just drop down from the ceiling.
Come on, Dusty, come on, Dusty, what are you fucking
thinking? You can hear some guy kind of in a distant sound say I
lost my headset. You guys good. I mean they're just it's like,
I'm good. They're figuring out I produced television before our very eyes could Could
somebody get me somebody get me a caught please. Jars Is pinfalls mean nothing
in this match? Yea? As opposed to every other match in NWA at
the time, I'm gonna say pretty much pinfalls meant nothing in it never occurred.
Yeah, eight competitors, jars As, you talk about a stampede,
you have to talk about the two time winner, Dusty, and we're going
to talk more about that. But right now, let's show the fans the
great crew who made this possible. Oh right, we get credits, the
credits, We get the credits to who ever got up competits they roll at
the end of NWA and w ST pay per views. I mean they're they're
reading the credits. Executive producer Jim Crockett, Producer David Crockett, I mean,
this is embarrassing. This is embarrassing, Like, why don't show footage
of the of the fucking bunk House Battle Royals from earlier? Correct to show
the Nelson royal video of him at the campfire to show all of them,
yeah that show, or show them fucking show the winners winning their matches.
The fact that they didn't have a really good plan for the inevitable part of
the show where the cage has to be put up is really sad. Yeah,
I agree. So they're reading the credits and they mentioned Toby Jenkins as
the director. Chavanni remembered on his podcast that Toby Jenkins had done mid Atlantic
wrestling from South Carolina and we started doing shows a Turner Broadcasting. A director
named Tommy Edwards came on board and he would direct the studio shows, and
he was the one, according to Schavani, that started the reactionary cut away
to the fans when someone had said something shots, which during those World Championship
Wrestling studio shows were so key, like when Flair talked about all the ladies
and they would be able to cut to two or three attractive women in the
studio. It was always so effective, and that was kind of like his
point is, we actually got a little bit of an upgrade there. But
when we were away from kind of like the Turner set up and we're on
the road on our own for a pay per view. We kind of reverted
back to these people that had been working there forever and didn't really have the
best wear withal. He said. Toby Jenkins didn't have a good handle on
the whole reaction shot idea, and he worked studio stuff at the TV station
South Carolina for Jim Crockett. He said there was a lack of communication between
booking and production as to what to look for during these shows. Back then,
he says, because Crockett was big into kfabe, you couldn't tell anybody
before you went on the air what was going to happen so that they could
be ready to cut away to it, which is obviously a huge part of
wrestling production now is going on before the show. There's you know, when
the key cutaways have to be because these guys and gals are doing these facial
expressions that are supposed to tell a million stories, and if you miss that,
it's like really bad, It's a really wasted opportunity. But Chavani says,
you know, that just wasn't the culture Jim Crockett Promotions, the production
people. You know, they may try to call somebody ahead of going live
and break kfabe a little bit to be prepared, but for the most part,
it was not the standard m to tell the people ahead of time what
to expect. And he also says that when we were in New York,
as they were here, they had to use a lot of unionized crew that
didn't necessarily have a ton of experience shooting wrestling, so that put some of
the collection of the show to disadvantage as well. All why, like what
why do they have different? Well, I guess when you run a New
York arena, the unions have something to say about who you hire to run
cameras, and so I'm sure, But how come wwe never had like they've
had guys that I mean, unless they they probably worked directly for the company,
don't I don't know. I think I think the kind of things that
are unionized are like setting up the light rigging. Hey, you know what,
listen, I just want to tell you guys, you know you're coming
here, you know nothing, not for nothing. I don't know what you
guys deal with down down and uh down south, you know, you know,
below the Mason Dixon line, but appear in the you know in New
York. We know, we we we we have unions, so we got
to collect agreement. You know, we do have a collective bogging agree this
agreement. This was collectively bogging. This was bogging directly by a collective,
all right, And so it has been collectively bogging. And you know where
we're you know, we're running a pretty tight ship up here. So I
don't know what you want us to do as the cage is not going up.
I don't know what you want us to do. That's a great one.
I don't know. Uh, you know, you know, if you
guys have plans for doing stuff, I don't. I don't know. So
so what is it you're thinking here? What do you what do you what
do you mean? That's going to be three hours overtime? I mean,
listen, you know we're talking. What time is that appens? So we're
talking, you know, eight thirty on a Sunday? Jesus Christ, I
mean, I get guys. You know we're talking abo. Look, we're
talking not only overtime and we're definitely past you know, hours of but also
the fact that you're working on a Sunday. I mean we're talking maybe a
double time and a half at least. I mean, you know, just
to get somebody to shoot shoot show. Just hold the cameras. It's going
to be about six dollars. I mean, listen, I'm you know,
if we're talking about you know, not only your your your television crew and
sound crew and drivers and uh to have six monitors for everyone more exactly.
I mean that's kind of a requirement here. You know, you got a
call safe before you blast, Yeah you got. I mean you gotta have
you gotta have at least eight union guys work in that cage thing you're talking
about. So everybody's unionized, but the wrestlers. I mean we're talking about
I mean, you know, you're talking for a two hour show, which
means you also need to prep time and and the you know, the breakdown
time. So we're talking about I mean, I'm looking seriously on a minimum,
a minimum one hundred and fifty mill easy. This guy's got his arms
folded, like, you know, try to try to be serious about it.
He throws a number like that out there. David, did you hear
they're going to charge one hundred and fifty million dollars? But we're not gonna
make a hundred fifty million dollars in two lifetimes. How does Vince afford to
run New York Jr. State gets to the show, puts his headset on
mister Ross, I will wrecking form you. This is this is union.
You know. I'm sorry some teamsters calling the show. I just want to
say, yeah, if I don't know if you're doing it like maybe a
separate soundtrack or something, But you can't call the show according to New York
State law. And we have a COLLECTI bogging you know. And are you
a member of the of of of the New York announced as Union? I
see. Look, look, mister Ross, I understand, I understand all
these people here at the building want, you know, hawk to prevail tonight.
But the only thing is going to be prevailing is wage. Okay,
And I do I do, I've I've heard tell that that the guy behind
the scenes has certainly had, you know, talked about people paying wages.
Look, we appreciate, mister Roses entreaties towards working men and women, you
know, having a deal with having had their jobs displaced, having to train
their replacements, having to watch this technology just RUPs so many livelihoods and stops
putting food on the tables of Union families. You know, I mean,
I'm not listen. I'm not trying to discredit any any of your work.
I'm sure, I'm sure you do a fine job. I'm sure you're very
You're very good. But unfortunately, unless you're part of the of the New
York Announcers Union, you cannot call any sort of sporting event real or fake.
Well, now, now, all right, welcome everybody to uh the
bunk House stampede. Wa. Yeah, at the call of sehim. Anyone
tell me when a fucking bug house champagne is? What the fuck is that?
Well, I'm here with the Bob News he though, right, has
there ever knows with this guy before? But I'll tell us a little bit
about yourself. Why are you all three generations teams? Do? Uh?
My grandfather was in the truckers Union. H Well, drove up new Jimmy
Hoff, how long you've been calling your wrestling matches? I don't know how
long has your sister been a fucking whole? Well, so oh, we'll
show we look forward to that Jim ship. Jim is sitting there behind the
camera. Look, because Irish folded with nothing he could do? Who should
whoo? Who should we kick out? Should we kick off the old man
or the crack that looks like a four year old. Listen, this fucking
guys looks like he's got about eighteen fucking meatballs in his mouth. That's enough
about you, Tony, I mean, but enough about lunchtime, right,
fucking this guy Maddie Randazzo or whatever his name is. Look, it's union
work. That's also very it's also very like Southern wrestling to blame New York
unions for we couldn't do it. Everybody else can do it. Guys,
we we couldn't perform the show we needed to do because they're unions. But
you know, it's true, Like I really don't know. I know w
w B has cameramen and some who have sort of like been there a long
time, like John Cena has the one he shouts out when he comes out.
But I wonder if there are some cameramen that they have to sort of
give, you know, to to local union people job certain cameraman maybe maybe
I don't know. Yeah, they pay a fee unless there unless they have
yeah two, unless there there's some unless they you know that they have them
in the unions. Yeah, they could, they could have these, you
know, they could have their cameramen in all the unions that they need to
have the men right, that's true too, you know, but yeah,
Shimani says, Jackie Crockett, who of course was a cameraman, was always
there, but a lot of the guys who never shot wrestling for the nw
WAY were there as well. Not hurt our production probably too, was like
they didn't have a much of a camera crew j JCP that could travel all
over the country. They probably did rely to some degree, this being a
new kind of thing for them. I mean, it's one thing to tape
television at a market that you usually go to when the resources that you know,
to get from local, right, and you go to New York for
a live shoot, you know, Chicago. You know, I just want
to say, you know that we can't you know, we can't always get
whatever's in the ring. You know that there are union rules that you know,
we have a certain amount of time we can focus on the ring from
one time we got to focus on the crowd, so you know you yeah,
I mean you may say you may say yeah, you may say,
you know, cut to the you know, tell the get ever, gotta
cut to whatever, you know, but it may not happen, it may
not be what you want it to be. Because I mean, if you
got issues, you can take up with the governor. Because I exactly my
hands are tied for no. I don't know, I don't know. I
don't know what you want from me. I'm just telling you how it is.
Every forty five minutes, they cut to a camera that's like been rested
on the floor. Where the fuck is this guy? He's got his like
ten minute break. I'm on my break right now. He's in the concourse.
I get I'm I'm having a smoke in the concourseus smoking up. Oh
yeah, look at that fucking baby. Huh yeah. Look at them titts.
Hey baby, show me your tits. Le's gone, n w a
shirt on? Look at me. Huh mwa. Motherfucker. Tony says,
basically, it looks shitty. Everything was dark. It just looks shitty.
And the Crockett never had an edit bay. And I'm a national I'm a
national woman approacher. That's because a whole moon into the word woman. Hold
on, he say, he say he coined the phrase I'm a woman approach
you. I mean he's saying that out back. The building. I'm a
woman approach us what I am? What does that mean? You approach women?
Don't get mad at me, Honey, I'm a woman approaching and I
hit more than I miss. Look, I'm union woman approaching. Whoa WHOA
A union national woman approaching. I'm an nwa A woman that's a flare said
it stood for it sad he knows. Ricky s Oh fuck, it's It's
all true. That's what. That's why we're saying it. Oh fuck mm
hmm okay. Uh. Chavonnie also said it was done small time and that's
why we lost. He's fucking rules. It's yeah, it's true, Jesus,
let's fucking go, Tony. I was there as a I was there
ring announcer. I could have done interviews at ringside coming up if we wanted
to do that. To do that, uh, I think what says it
all about Jim Crockett promotions. Maybe it doesn't say at all, but says
it all to me is that Bob Coddle, God bless him, the great
gentleman, one of the great announcers of all times. Read the credits during
the show. Read the fucking credits. I had to pause it and let
it sink in for a second that I was actually seeing this right read now,
I know it takes time, right, right, And of course later
you know, years gone by, you know they started constructing the cage and
then suspending the cage and dropping him down and making it quicker. But why
not to have somebody talk in the backstage area. In addition, when they
go to Bob and Jim to fill time, they continually have people walking in
front of them. It was it looked like throughout the fact that the booking
was was shitty, throughout the fact that we screwed the fans by not giving
him everything that they thought they should have gotten, go to the fact that
it looked like what it was. It was a small time, fucking promotion,
not knowing what to do. It's what it was. It was a
small southern mom and pop promotion going into New York City or New York State
Long Island and showing air of the world why they are still behind Bence McMahon.
It was. And I had forgotten all about the reading of the credits,
but I'll get I would. I would venture to say that has never
been done and never will be done again. And a professional wrestling event reading
the fucking credits. Yeah, man, that's great TV, buddy. I'm
glad I paid for that. It's what I would be saying back at home.
Total he's fucking money, Oh he is. Somebody's pissed that JR got
the TBS slot. Yeah, yeah, there's that too, Like you're gonna
tell me that I'm not good enough to be the voice of the national show
anymore. And while you guys can't even figure out what you do between you
in your hands while you're building the cage on a pay per view. So
so, yep, tremendous stuff. Giovanni does make an announcement to the people
that for every twenty first, they're coming back and that there's a new time
for Worldwide Wrestling on wpi X Channel eleven and the Wrestling Network. Three thirty
in the afternoon on channel eleven apparently is when this used to air. JR
says, You've got to be thrown over the top to win this thing.
They talk about how it's probably about fourteen feet like you like we heard earlier
when JR says it's probably when Bob says it's ten, Jasa's probably fourteen feet
from the cage to the floor. Oh, if you say so, Jim,
and I can't really count feet, but I can tell you what I
can count them. That is the amount of minutes I sleep. Right.
We want to talk about a couple of years in the headlights here. Oh,
it's so embarrassing. They show the slow motion footage from earlier. Okay,
it's bad. Jerry talked about how Dusty won the last two and on
January first of the Omni, Dusty and four others were competing for the final.
You want all three? Doesn't know that they don't count one, but
they're all three idiots. Jr. Even says Alex Luker's on a roll,
which if only something else, we're on a roll. I really have his
attention, Bob. Maybe Alex Luker on a roll. But uh, you
know, I don't mind telling you, Jim, I'd like to have a
ham and cheese. It's not enough to say it. He has to say,
I don't mind telling you, but a confession. I like ham and
cheese and a roll. Bob Cox couldn't guessed it, Bob. Maybe even
some tuna salad on a roll. Maybe just a roll. Right, I'll
eat a role plane op coddle. Definitely a liver and onions guy. You
know, sometimes Jim, I like to put just liver pata on a roll.
They're really trying to kill time, aren't they. So Well, Bob,
what you have for breakfast? Jim? Unfortunately I didn't have breakfast because
my huh, well, you know, my wife didn't wake me up in
time for breakfast, and she said that I couldn't. And if someone doesn't
wake me up, Jim, I'm liable to sleep till three thirty. As
Jim, I'll tell you you know, sometimes I've you know, if I
if my wife isn't there to wake me up. Some I've been known to
sleep in two three days. And Jim, it was a late night for
me because, as you well know, I decided last night might be the
time to end at all. I put my head in a microwave. It
just wouldn't turn on, Jim. You know, Jim, I'm in the
hotel and I said, okay, you know what it's time, right,
And so I put my head in a microwave, but I couldn't press the
buttons and the right formation to start it going. My wife is already asleep,
and I said, you know, what. I don't want to wake
her because that just be unfortunate. So I said, so great, just
another thing I can't do right, Jim, because you know I'd never hear
the end of it, Jim, and I might even she wouldn't even help
me out ending it. That's how much. That's how good it is in
my house. That's how good it is in my house. What a confessional
right here? So till in time. So I decided just to close the
microwave door and and and call it a night, go to bed and see
what happened in the morning. Next thing I knew, I'm being woken up
around five thirty in the evening to get ready for work, and I haven't
eaten since. In case you can't tell, and Jim, if I'm gonna
be completely honest here, I want to tell you I haven't had intimate relations
with my wife about fifteen years. They zoom in slowly on his face.
She says, it's my comb over. But I think there's something else going
on. Well, Jim, last night I was looking at your daughter's only
fans. Jim. Can I ask you a personal question? How often do
you masturbate? I want to see if I compare as Jim. As you
well know, and all our great fans can understand that sound like obob at
the end of now, Jim, one thing now we must do, if
we are to live the country we could be proud of, is to masturbate
U at least three times a day. So Bob Cuddle says, ay to
the roughest and toughest in the world are in there, and they can't watch
the sides the back of the front at all times, and it's a long
way down, so it's all this matchup. Some guys will have weapons which
none of them end up doing. You can't watch it back, dude,
what's going on? Brother? Yeah, that's definitely a trigger word. Jared's
arn't and Tully are no doubt going to do some teamwork in this match,
so it's not quite every man from self. Paul Jones, of course have
three men in there, Dusty and Lex might even pull their resources. Jared
gives a quick shout out to Lex says he's on a roll. Like I
said, careers on the line for one prize and here we go. Fans,
it's like a it's a killing time an election night before the results come
in, everybody talks three hours, Yeah, says a bunch of things that
no one will ever remember. Yeah, and I don't matter, and that
are not relevant. Right. So the cage is up. They hit the
music, and they're changing colored lights in the building on the cage as well.
And it is the bunk House buck Stampede. First out in a yellow
tank and a hat and jeans and one kneepad and elbow pants, looking like
a complete goof. Is the American dream Dusty Rhodes, Well you don't,
David. All my lives, everybody that's tuned in on the television dropped his
country. I've seen Dusty Rhodes and wrestling my kids. They've seen it,
from the baddest feud to enough ten grades of the wrestling ring. They come
to mind, Dick Murdoch. Now I want to pick a bounty out on
me and my simple bud. Now the Peter Golong, I'm not hard to
find, but the band is on my mind. Is the All Night I
have a million dollars. Rick Flapp setting well up batting to the band.
The baddest meeting group of men ever in one ring, one game by himself
for half of me, anothers and that's one day at them as that take
re a buck for everybody else, and that is I have won two of
them. I am the baddest of the band. I am the bullet of
wood. I am the buck out step bead champion. And if you're in
California, if you love Vegas, or you in suth me the hour,
you get your cable to and you hook it up because you can see it
live as it happened. And before going into these things, I knew that
SIP one was gonna be harder because I took a war card birds. If
you will off the Minnesota Viking birds of you will they say I'm backed in
in this year. Well, I'm backed in, but I'm gonna walk out
front Wood debt is because in my neighborhood, the whole out the project alone,
when words I have a million dollars, My daddy alone got repted Zold
never made. I have a million dollars. And by God from my nag
and that don't come see him throughout this country, and the natural regogarize dupty
Rhodes, It's gonna give you a hundred ten a fifth because I am so
he fidgets chicken you canna pulled me over the top. You can pull me
out the door before you get called your up cop. Go to the world.
Put better to the band and Ductor Rhodes. He is getting better than
he's ever fell. Bidder for no friends, only food for everybody, look
out for their own sound. It's gonna take a mighty big man to pick
the title from The Bull of the World, the King of the Book content
Pea from Dusty Road, the American Dreams. If that didn't get you excited,
I don't know where it will. Uh. He did say it would
be the baddest of the bad I do agree with that. Telly blanched out
with a weird looking T shirt and a thick brown almost weightlifting belt on and
jeans. Do you see someone at ringside? Know who h Happner? Oh?
Yes he is. He hasn't gone over yet, just days days.
Think about that being like in less than was this is the twenty fourth,
yes, and so less than two weeks away, and that's they're hyping on
the rumble at the same time is going to be up and a large part
abound poaching this guy, fucking guy amazing. I mean, okay, So
here's the question did they did they have him? That's a great question.
I don't know. I think it's almost addressed at some point. It's just
weird that he's on this show, and if they didn't have him, what
was the plan? Right? Right? They must you know, they must
have been pretty pretty certain. I don't know why there isn't more known about
the whole DNA. Yeah, it is so funny how it's very you know,
it's it seems like again, you know, because at the time it
would seem like a non issue, like okay, you're hiring a referee,
but given that it was one of the most well known angles of the period
time period, right, it's like like and the fact that two weeks prior
here he is on you know, the nwas big pay per view night,
Like, dude, what's going on? Brother? It's it's so true,
it's pretty crazy. He told Hebner, I'm looking up here in a shoot
interview. Who was he talking to? Let's see Sean Mooney's podcast. Okay,
said they wanted Hulk Cogan to drop the belt, but they wanted him
to lose clean. They thought about and thought about it, so they were
like, well, Dave Hebner is a twin brother. That's perfect. Vince
flew my brother and I in and we sat and talked with Vince McMahon.
It was great, it worked perfect. They kept saying it was an imposter,
they made him up, and then it turned out that the truth was
David and I were twins. We went up to Connecticut and me, my
brother and Hulk Cogan worked that thing for about four days and it was the
most k fabe thing in the world that I ever can remember. What k
fabe was. When I went into the building, everybody goes, hey,
Dave. I had my head down the whole time and I just kept walking.
Then Davy boy Smith came in a little later, and it was like
nobody was looking for Dave because everyone assumed Dave was already there. You know
what I mean. It was great. I'm working in the NWA. My
brother Dave told me that Vince wanted us to go up to Connecticut because he
wants to give us a deal, and I said, okay. So I
think Hulk Cogan was the one who really put the icing on the cake and
said that this is perfect, this is what we need. I'm ready between
the lines there, know what I determined that Hulk didn't want to lose the
belt and didn't want to lose on the show, right, and found a
way to work, you know, way an opportunity here, dude, for
an amazing piece of pervious. Yea, and yeah, but it's four days
out, so yeah, there you go. Well it's not though, because
it's it was the fifth, this is the twenty fourth. Yeah, it's
two weeks. That's two weeks. Yeah, but he didn't have to go
the day after the show. He may have gone, but still I guess
I guess that that's the whole what I what I'm what? But it's again,
what I'm more curious about is is that planning motion now right doesn't or
or was it? Like I mean, like what do you if you know
you're taking the belt off whole Cogan? Because I mean I imagine the whole
you know, the way that the whole year was booked. And it's not
like that they were making this as they went along that they knew Hogan was
going to lose the belt so they could have the tournament at WrestleMania, So
like, what the fuck is he is? Have they already said, hey
is his? I mean, I guess number of things was Earl was his
contract up. I'm was okay, I mean, that's these are all things.
I'm just I'm because I never, I never would have thought of seeing
him in the company, in the other company this close right to that monumental
moment. Yeah, yeah, I didn't realize he was anywhere. I do.
It was in Crockett, of course, I think he. I think
he refereed the Flare Tully, the Tully Magnum I quit match. Actually,
but I did not know that he made any appearances for Crockett eighty eight until
I saw this let alone, let alone right before exactly like they're they're hyping
up the match that he is going to be the most significant part of massive,
absolutely massive. Yeah, if I'm reading between the lines of what he's
saying there, they went in with the plan of Hogan losing clean to DeAndre
to lose the belt or at least do some kind of finish that would hold
it up, and they came up with this scenario because that wasn't gonna work
for the Hochster. Maybe I'm acting there, which listen again, I'm all
about that. That that I totally understand and I totally can buy that it's
I'm I'm really really fascinated to know how, like when's exactly like yeah,
because I think you know, they wouldn't be interested in Dave unless they had
the idea. So whenever they first reached out to him has got to be
the when. That's that's what I want to know, Like, when was
he first reached out to about this? And again, it just seems so
fucking weird given given how much was already in motion right in terms of the
WWE's nineteen eighty eight machine and what they knew was going to happen, How
was this like, how was he not right under contract with WWE at this
point? Yeah? Interesting, Well there it is. Here comes Ivan Coloff
and all read with Paul Jones, the warlord with the shirt that says Lifeguard
on it. I don't know why aren't out with a smaller white belt and
the four horseman shirt cut off. Lex comes out to a pop. He's
in long pants but regular gear for the most part. So as Dusty seen
in the first part there, he's he's not a fucking cowboy. What it
les to win? It's like, yeah, Dusty, the point is,
no one gives a shit if a cow that a cow might have to win.
The bunkhouse baby comes to Barbarian and there's a road warrior animal as well.
Yea one. I apparently they're seeing animal won the most bunk house dampedes
in December because they would do them all over the circuit. Yeah, he's
gonna cut off as well. So is the gem on it, just to
be specific. And the lights come up and the bunk house damped is underway.
The bell sounds and animals on wardloord and they all start throwing and the
lights go way dim for a second. I'll tell you, I get very
confused at times, uh with barbarian and animal. I don't know. Sometimes
I think that animal so dusty and barbarians square off. I guess the toward
at the beginning is what I But at first I thought it was an animal.
I thought dusty and animals like, oh, look at this, we
get some friend versus friend action. They have similar head shapes, and they
do exactly if the haircut. It's the haircut and the facial here and the
face paint. It's like you can't fucking tell, especially when they're wearing street
clothes. They show us that the doors in fact, padlocked a wild melee.
Bob Caddle says, that's Dusty at the steakhouse. Afterwards, Bob Luga
throwing on arms wild melee, and he might have a wild may tie as
well. Punches everywhere, so many, many many punches. Also, I
don't understand why the door's locked, since that's a mode of elimination. True,
I know it's opened within minutes. Who opened it, right? Why
is it padlocked? Who cares? Musty wandering around like he's at a cocktail
party, peppering and elbows here and there, like he's working the room as
opposed to work in a match. Yeah, the door's open, like you
said, suddenly in Tully is halfway out, but he's closing it now.
To be eliminated, we're told we must be thrown through the cage door or
over the top. Luga throwing the punches with noises, barbs, low blows.
Caudle can't fucking tell who dust he's trying to eliminate somebody, and Caddle
can't fucking Oh yeah, Dusty is about this, and as he got caught
from I'm gonna tell you, like like you said, it was Tolly Blanchard
and he's the only person wearing a green shirt, Bob God So you can't
really, you know, pas, this is not the kind of a match
for a no, A wet behind the ears director to be assigned to NO.
And this is also not a not a match that you should have Bob
Caddle call no because he's you know, he's slowly somebody who pay attention.
Yes, and I wept out in the ears is the wrong term? Just
a director didn't have experience with like dynamic matches and assumes like everything's in one
on one kind of traditional shot. So Dusty is raking Coloff's head on the
cage. Crowd seems bored to me. I don't know, I agree.
Warlord with a grilla press slam on arn Anderson Tilly climbs the ropes and animals
up trying to push him out. Dusty trying to push Ivanto the cage door.
How stupid is that? Like a w W if you run for your
life to get out of the cage door to win, and here are these
guys who are trying to force each other out of the door. I mean,
that's also got to be confusing for for w B fans in New York,
in New York. You know for sure this is who's watching this fucking
thing and who's there? You know, these are primarily dibit of e fans
who just want to see wrestling, right and also too like how did the
how did the because you know, again you see a lot of you know,
the young adults here, you know, like definitely you see a lot
of young like maybe twenty somethings in the crowd. Like there's one guy I
can't I picture in my fucking head who I saw like I think two or
three times on crowd shots with you know, he had he had like dark
hair with a kind of in a mullet type thing with with a mustache,
and and I'm like, how if the fuck now these guys are are are
I imagine are smartened up to a degree, not like necessarily like fans are
today, but smartened up to a degree where you know you're having fun and
you're getting you get invested. But how the fuck are they supposed to these
grown ups? Are they supposed to suspend disbelief for these words on when we
talked about earlier, how you know in part one I would buy this shit?
I would I would fucking because my my brain would totally go into that
and and I would get totally invested in it. But I can't imagine any
adult who who has the slightest bit of intelligence suspending disbelief for these fucking rules
when all you have to do to avoid getting eliminated is just sit down,
you know, just sit your ass down in a corner and don't move,
hug the ropes right, you know, or get between the ropes in the
cage and just fucking plant yourself, like you don't have to do anything to
win this match. Who's going up on the top rope? Who is climbing
up there for any reason? So stupid in this match when you know that
the way to get out is to go over the cage. Rotten rotten idea.
As again, seven year old me. If I had bought this back
then, totally would have fucking bought it. I would have been like totally
invested, Like I was, like, how badly I wanted to get World
War three so badly? You know, it's stupid as fucking shit, right,
but I was so invested in that, and I would have been invested
in this. But now all I see is how stupid it looks. Totally
agree yep, and doesn't get any better watching it. Maybe one of the
stupidest concepts in wrestling. Yep, it really is. It's way up there.
I mean, give me a fucking Kennel from Hell match instead of this
fucking bull. It's definitely not what the doctor ordered when you consider the pitched
nature of the battle at this point between w w F and JCP, like
they can't afford to put something like this forward. I mean seriously, like
you need to put you need to put the hard wrestling as the as the
differential to w W WE knock this shit. Yep. So Telly comes off
the top of the nail bow to Luger, double teaming him along with arn
Anderson. Hepner there, like you said, at ringside, Dusty now standing
on the other top rope with Ivans somehow, and Dusty trying to put Ivan
over the cage wall. That's the thing. We cut to both guys on
the top rope, and we don't get a sense of how they got up
there at all. No, No, and I don't even know why again,
like I said, I don't know why people would climb up there for
any reason. Well, Barbarian gets up there to throw on Dusty save Ivan.
I don't know why, but he does. I don't want you throwing
Dusty out. So it's a it's Barbed, Dusty and Ivan standing there kicking
at each other barely while trying to balance all the ropes. Barbed snatches Dusty
and elevates him slightly to the top of the cage. Dusty hangs on for
his dear life, and then Barbe's crushes himself on the top rope and nobody
even sees it now, and here's Caudle again, talking about, well,
he's got some he's got some strong beliefs about this sort of this sort of
encounter. Okay, even more so than war games exactly. It's like it'd
be one thing if this wasn't the same company that did an absolutely perfect version
of this match. Right. Ivan ran the razor because the industry means something
to him, so he must sak in New York. That's right, you
must, you must juice next, it's something to Iron, we're told,
but the camera misses it. Dusty runs, Ivan coot into the fence.
Animal and Tully, you're standing and walking along the top rope. Now they
just decide in the middle of the match to do a balanced animal raking Tully
s raaming on the cage wall, aren't face? Did no idea? Why
here's a wait, who'd you say was breaking the face? Telly Blanchard?
Okay, yeah, then go ahead. Yeah, the amount of things we're
missing in this match. Probably shouldn't have just spotlighted the director's name before this.
I know that was like the worst of timeline credits. There's gonna be
a lot of marks against this guy's name by the time this one's over.
Jim Ross says, I think Rhodes DDT to him. While I'd like to
know, but I know you might be better off watching instead of watching the
monitor, pal watch the fucking ring. That might be better for us,
exactly for this one. So then I guess you have to pick up the
knocked out guy and somehow puppeteer him all the way up the fence out through
the door. Either way, it's so stupid. Animal clotheslines aren't Why anyone
would choose to try to take their opponent up over the cage instead of out
of the door. I don't know. I don't know. That's like the
key of it. It's like if you could do both, Like why does
a single person try over the fence. You should just make it over the
fence and have some fun. Would like the ways these guys have to engineer
to get guys up there, But the fact that the door's there and not
everybody doesn't take that option is just so stupid. I know, I haven't
choking Dusty light corner punches on Barbarian Alex pardon me, corners Barbarian throwst punches.
They call it again, like you said, the most physical and dangerous
match in all of sports. Tully leaking now as well. Dusty sens Tully
into the fence. Tully's always there to bump for Dusty no matter what.
It's right, absolutely lugre with an atomic drop, and I'm in Coloff who
tries to take the fence face first, kind of slow on the draw there,
Dusty pumping jabs on Tully Anderson halfhearted flip flop and fly drops Telly Bland
Shart arn Anderson's busted. He's being raked on the cage. And here's JR
Jr. Getting hungry. I guess, okay, Jim Boyd, you say
chop beef, there's him. You got it. You got chop beef.
In your pocket. Hey, it's New York. He probably order to chop
cheese. That's true, Dusty floor, it's arned with a chop. Speaking
of chopped beef, I see your pocket there, Jim. I want to
see if I have any if you have any that chop beef in your pocket.
I'm a little hungry. Powers of painter holding animal open for shots.
Lugar about to lift Ivan coll Off and a grilla press. And you can
hear him shout tally so tell he can come over and kick him in the
gut. That's Lex for you. Many Animal busted open, barbarian biting the
cut. Lugar had a Zeus tights on in this match. For some reason,
Dusty is swinging a belt. Yeah, and you know, I mean
all he's considered. I mean the crowd seems kind of into him doing his
thing at this Dusty Yeah, sure, which is you know again you think
of the self serving of Dusty, right, But it's not like the crowd
didn't like him, No, I mean that was That's a point I try
to drive home, and everyone that talks about the show drives home is that
the negativity on the show was all the logistical nightmares. It wasn't Dusty whinny
Now that prolonged term. That proved to be a problem, But it was
more with the boys than it was with the fans. The boys are the
ones belly aching about Dusty winning this match, not really the fans. The
smart fans, of course, would decry it. But in the building that
night, the booze were because the show is over in an hour, right,
That's why they were changing refund It just happened to burst out after Dusty
one because he was the last match. So yeah, Dusty swinging a belt.
Tully snatches the belt. A bit of a tug of war breaks out
with Dusty. Dusty gets free and he's cracking the weapon going off and there's
a big pop. Arn goes to the gut to shut that down. Everyone
feeding Dusty so we can whip them in the gut. Dusty sells by stopping
and leaning over and grimacing like he's having a heart attack. All of a
sudden, Dusty takes a knee. That's the extent of the bumping he does
in this match. Two signs in the in the crowd Funky like a monkey,
tremendous, and America loves quote NW you way unquote wrestling. I don't
know why it was fast as I mean seriously awesome, I having coofs unloading
on Dusty. Uh. There's they talk about an alley fight and all kinds
of analogies gang war. They're just flying with the analogies here, but gang
war would mean like you'd have gangs. They're not like, they're not like
you have two tag teams in there. That's it. Absolutely all the action
suddenly stops and for some reason Animal is being surrounded. I don't know what
that was about. I don't remember. I don't know either. X Lucas
tied to the ropes blay Aar and Anderson, which is an interesting choice in
a match like this, where being tied to the ropes just keeps Lucas safe
for a long time. Right, I'm like, yeah, do it?
Man timing Up Jr. Says at one point they're professional athletes while they're all
just standing around. Well, he that's I think that that that that part
has Well. Then they talk about what athletes are all about, and that's
caddle brings us up and here five hundred thousand dollars to the man that walks
out its ring the winter. That's what it's all about. And that's why
they're in there, giving bodies soul and all they got then a match are
They're professional athletes. Athletes compete not only for the Christie's and authority, but
for the money. Hey, Jim, thanks Jim Jr. What would you
do for half a million dollars? What's up, boss, Dusty with the
belt? Jim? I want to tell you something that have you ever seen
half a million dollars? My daddy never saw half a million dollars, Dusty
says, You know, Jim, I I don't even know if I can
count five hundred thousand. You know what I'm saying, Jim. I can't
even count as high as five hundred, let alone five hundred thousand. I'm
sitting here wondering exactly what it is I'm doing here. J Him, I
really don't know where I am. I don't know who you are. I
just need to have a snack of some sort. I don't know who you
are. Keep calling you, Jim, Jim, I've never seen five hundred
thousand dollars, No, Bobe, I have it, Jim. Well,
then have you ever seen half a million dollars? Jim? Have you ever
seen five hundred thousand one dollar bills. Jim. Have you ever seen a
check written five zero zero Comma zero zero zero? Jim? Have you ever
seen the number five hundred thousand anywhere? It's just ten questions, Bob,
I'm trying to do a pay per view here, Jim. Have you seen
my underwear five hundred thousand times? Have you seen my underwear five hundred thousand
times? This evening? I am bushed. It's it's so awkward that they
just stop fighting all of a sudden and look at each other, and then
they didn't do a fucking west Side story spot. For God's sake, you
need to be doing much more creative stuff here, man. There needs to
be more dashes for the door, you know what I mean. It's so
bad. It's it's way awful. It's worse. It's like the worst thing
I've ever seen, honestly. I mean, in many ways, it is
like I mean, I can definitely say I've seen matches that made me feel
much worse. Yeah, watching, but there's it's a hard pointlessness to it
that you can't get. Then there's that it's hard to watch a match.
Okay, it's hard to watch a match that has decent elements to it,
but just isn't executed in any way that makes sense. Right, That's it.
You can't get around like these flaw, these logic flaws, these like
right, what am I watching? Like? What am I hoping for?
Here? Like? Show me what it is that I'm supposed to be anticipating
because I can't picture it. I just see. Do you know how much
strength it would take? Right? That's afraid the middle of match, animal
just walks up to like Ivan cool Off, grabs him by the back of
the singlet and launches him all the way over the fence. That's what you
gotta do. But think, but think about this, okay, think about
how hard it is to lift a man forcibly up right anyway, and you're
doing it while on completely unstable ring ropes. Yeah, that's it. You
have no base to launch the guy. You have no base to even lift
the guy up, Forcibly about Dino Bravo in trouble doing the powerlifting because the
platform was rickety. Imagine this, I mean, like, how the fuck
are you supposed to logically lift somebody up? I mean it requires a really
again, you know, suspending disbelief too. Yeah, a level that is
just not okay, even in professional wrestling, especially too hard. I mean,
it's not even like the hokey w wright. No, I's tell how
you do it. One guy, for no reason decides to climb all three
ropes, and then the other guy touches him and he throws one leg over
the top of the fence, right the slightest provocation. Yeah, like,
don't don't cater to the New York fans. Show them something different. Animal
Animal drop with the double shoulder block by the Powers of Pain. Arn Interson
has lost a boot. We're told Dusty has bladed his arm. That's a
little tricky pull out and matches like this. Yeah, so his not his
bicep, but the outside of his arm is bleeding, and of course he
would walk around with scar tissue on his arm. So fucking so Ivan is
tying a leather belt on Dusty's bad arm, like he's taking his blood pressure
or something. There's Luger holding the boot. Animal ducks a high shoulder tackle
on Wardlord, the Powers ganging up on Luger. Powers of Pain, Jared
says, the National Wrestling Alliance out of nowhere, and then eight tough men.
Arn Anderson has hammocked on the top of the cage in the corner my
stomach first, and then animal is coming to eliminate anybody's saved by barbarian.
Barbarian is saving people from elimination here. Do not ask me why, well,
because he's you know, there are there are some people. Isn't isn't
isn't Ivanoff part of crew sense? I don't get it. As an animal
with a backach and a low blow on Barbarian that drops him. Arm is
screaming for Tully, and Tully is a bell around a belt around Koloff's neck
and the cage door it's being opened, trying to pull him out of the
cage door by his neck. Coloff goes for the eyes. Aren't Anderson is
free? Now? Aren't Anderson going on Dusty's arm? And Dusty, instead
of protecting his arm, just looks at aren't attacking it? Looks at it.
Ivan on the on the outside of the cage. Now somehow an animal
clubs him from the top and Ivan drops off the side of the fence to
the floor. So, yeah, like, how the fuck did that happen?
Yeah, we missed the whole process of getting Ivan to the other side
of the fence. But he's just suddenly there. I'd probably prefer that,
honestly, then having to be subjected to the foolishness that got him up there
in the first place. Yeah, it's so weird though, how they just
cut to a guy and he's on top of the cage somehow. Yep,
Animal press Lamb's Tully an arn warlord goes to the door and we'll kick him.
Warlord's clutching the door. An animal gets him out of there. I
don't think he didn't fall out himself. He did Animal push his warlord and
then they both go out. It's a fucking travesty. I see. It's
such an animal says son of a bitch, And I wonder if he says
he caused that shit. I wonder if if Animal I went out prematurely here
the way he maybe might, he might have unless he was just in character.
I was hoping for some color in the book. But he just said
he had a great time in the match and said little else about it.
So really, that's great, that's great. Animal. So he got lex
Lucar Tully in Tully Blanchard, Dusty Rhodes, aren't he never wanted to be
reminded that he had a great fucking time in this match, because I didn't.
I didn't unbelieve him. I didn't have a great time watching you animal.
So again it's Lugar, Tully, Roads, double A and Barbarian.
Luger and Rhodes go off on the Brainbusters. Lugar power slams Tully. Lugar
gets a Tully blanched up in the torture rack, but Blanter grabs the cage
to get free, and he's flailing along the fence and saying, oh am
I back to the camera. Dusty on the mat getting stumped by the barbarian.
He's just sitting there as his arm gets bit, his bloodied arm.
Oh that's about his best he can do, anyway, Totally sitting there,
Gordbuster by the Blinbusters on Lex Lugar, Tully dressed like a guy pulling weeds
on his postage stamp lot this weekend. Lugar in the middle Rode hanging on
as Arn and Tully try to force him out of the cage. Luger kicks
them both back to a pop. They stay on him, though, when
Luga starts throwing, Tully climbs walks to where Lugar is and gets punched in
the gut. The brainbusters now are going in on Lugar with the backs to
the open door. The old guy, maybe it's Klondike Bill, is out
there holding up the cage wall. I think, I think, I think
it is. I think. Well, we got shit going on up.
Very gooddy, Hey, I just what I gotta do? They just go,
holy y, all right, just go to hold this shit up Soide
can get back and get shit on my face. That right, hooker,
So Arne's in the threshold of the door for two hookers to sho on my
face. Thanks for the rate quote. So Arn't in the threshold of the
cage door, throwing right hands to the gut. Luca's fighting with him.
Luger sounds like when you smash the whack them all alligators. Aunt Aunt,
sit Arn't on the steps, Yank and Luger by the by a chair.
I don't know why the chairs involved. But suddenly Arne then jumps into the
guardrail and Luga and Tully spill out after him, and all three it's all
gone. They're all gone. Luca, Tully and Aren't are eliminated. It's
just all of a sudden, The most interesting people in the match are gone.
Like the eliminations are a joke. Like, so far only one person
has been eliminated, you know, if you will the appropriate way, and
that was Ivan Coloff. The other everyone else has been eliminated by like idiots.
Yeah, I really don't like this match. It wasn't it wasn't panned
that harshly at the time. But I really don't see any redeeming quality in
this thing. I see it. Yeah, I don't. I know,
I don't see much at all myself. I think this is just an absolute
concept, sucks and the execution is somehow worse yep again, Like they're like
decent ideas in the bunk house stampede type thing, but this is this is
embarrassing and to take a chance on something like this is so is so surreal
to me on pay per view, Yeah totally, that's a big part of
it. Fell into how show and saw this. Yeah, I wouldn't be
great, but no harm, no foul, you know, right, they
hung a cage. They got me excited for something novel. It's great,
fine, even if the execution sucked and the finish wasn't interesting, But this
is like, it's just so tone deaf, you know, to people at
this moment in the war straightforward, man, be straightforward, and just show
them the best of what you can do and should have done the exact show
they did in November at the Colosseum with the War Games, right, I'm
reading that lineup. I'm like, that's it, man, that's what you
need to be doing, fucking us champers World champ in the comain. So
okay, down to Dusty Rhodes and Barbarian, just what we always wanted and
like I said, like you just said, there's a strategy for this.
Just sit on the mat and let a guy chew your arm until everyone else
is out of the ring. That's what Dusty has done here, and he
finds himself at the last two. Paul Jones hands Barbarian something through the fence.
Barbarian crowns Dusty with it, and Dusty collapses. But if they if
they had like a modern match like this, and what they do now is
like they'd have somebody fucking like on their phone. Oh yeah, exactly,
some like modern time killer. Ye Barbarian with a falling head butt off the
ropes. In another he tilts, he doesn't leap, he just tilts over.
When he doesn't, they find a guy pumping his fist channing Dusty,
so that's good. Dusty gets to the door. Barbarian is pushing him out.
Jared says this would catapult him to start him, that being the barbarian,
which is funny. That's bas is saying. He's not a star.
I know, and I don't think there's any of him making you catapult the
barbarian to start him. Dusty stands in the threshold of the door, closes
the fist slow and throws starts hitting elbows. Cut to a board woman.
As James says, this cribs enthralled, very proud, does not care.
Terrible timing on that cutaway man. One of the most physical battles ever,
they say, and ever in the Nasau Coliseum or anywhere else. Okay,
weapon of back elbow drops Barbarian, Nobody cares. Rhads throws Barbarian into the
corner and they both inexplicably start climbing the cage independent of each other. They
both still start marching upwards. This is why. So Rhodes gets up there,
starts hanging over the wall. Barbarian tries to lift him all the way
over. Dusty drops down, gets his head under the gut of Barbarian,
lifts him up like almost a fireman's carry, so that Barbarian ends up crotched
on top of the cage, and Barbarian just you know, goes to the
motions and throwing one leg over the top, go out this way o getting
himself in position, standing there waiting for Dusty to load up the slowest elbow
he's ever thrown in his career. Here I got. I got the last
few moments for you. If you want to hear it, let's do it.
I heard some booze in there, Yeah I did. Jim Crockett gets
in. He's Dusty the trophy. It's Dusty hikes his jeans up because they're
following way low. I'm in that gut in the front man. No chance.
He got a waistline on par with that. He gets handed the Big
Boot. They've rushed this whole postmatch ceremony. Dusty seems totally exhausted. He's
not being cast in a flattering light at all, not at all. And
they announced for the third time from Austin, Texas with the Big Boot,
the American Dream. Dusty Rhodes. Dusty leans over in the corner out of
breath, about to exit the boots handed to him. Dusty has a check.
He kisses it in the doorway and waves to the crowd, and Jr.
Says the dream is contemplated retirement and said he's going to fight for the
people of the USA, and he ain't the prettiest. He's a rough old
dog and a lot of these fights. And he's walking out one more time
as the Bull of the Woods, as the spotlight follows him up the aisleway
at the Nassau Coliseum. Fuck my life, man Jarre says, we have
have to hand it to the eight minimate to the finals and the National Wrestling
Alliance through December to earn the right to come here. And without a doubt,
the National Wrestling Alliance has made another statement. Jr. Says to the
wrestling fans of America that this just doesn't get any more physical than the end
of the way. I mean physically, you mean nauseous. Yes, this
is where if you're keeping score at home, if you listen very closely as
JR. Is trying to sign off, you can start hearing a vociferous portion
of the crowd at the Nassau Colissy and begin chanting refund in unison, and
I would say at about this point there, uh, this would be I'd
say approximately uh, Danny Davis has under the royal rumbles, speaking of refund.
I'm sure whoever was chanting refund at Nassau Colisy and Vince Junior paid them
to say it. I get it. I'm sure of course. You can
even hear someone shout this show sucked, as Bob Coddle says, it just
turned out to be a fantastic event. Jim she you know it's there.
Vlad, you look very closely. He gets around. Man. It doesn't
care who comes to New York. He's there. He doesn't he's there,
man, he just wants to get his fucking tickets. They sign up for
five big moments, and it's just a fucking disaster. It's been a presentation
of The Wrestling Network copyright nineteen eighty eight and the Lapsed Fan Wrestling Podcast copyright
twenty twenty three. Consider January nineteen eighty eight, seminal moments in the archive
and on the shelf. Damn right, see you next time when we crack
that fucking hopper opening announcement as a t j TO Santis production, its contents
is intended for private use only.